PMD - Holders
by GrieferAtWork
Summary: Cyder the Quilava tells his kids the story of how he came to their world. A world he shaped and that never stopped trying to get to him. Read, how he tries everything in his power to keep his children and closest friends, both in the past and present, save from the forces that want nothing more but the power that he was destined to carry. Updated in seasons of 10000 plus words.
1. Story Time

_Authors Note:_  
 _Welcome to the first season of PMD - Holders._  
 _I will be uploading chapters 1-8 over the next week, with one chapter a day._  
 _Chapters will always be uploaded on deviantart and fanfiction at the same time._  
 _Any feedback of any kind will be greatly appreciated, as it helps me better my writing and shows me, that I'm not just doing this for nothing._  
 _Also: The (apparently) obligatory "I don't own Pokémon, so don't sue me" - disclaimer_  
 _Fanfiction: www¸fanfiction¸net/u/7545584_  
 _Deviantart: www¸grieferatwork¸deviantart¸com_

"Daddy! Daddy!"

"Yes, what is it kids?"

"Tell us your story!"

"Ugh. I'm feeling really tired right now. Plus it's already getting late."

"Pleeeaasse! Please please please please!"

"Ugh fine... But not all of it! That would take too long and you kids have to get to sleep."

"Yay! Bedtime story"

I always knew the day when I would have to tell this story would come.

"Okay kids. Then gather around, 'cause this is my story. A story that I like to call..."

\- GrieferAtWork presents: PMD - Holders -

I was able to hear dripping water. I didn't know why there was dripping water, where I was or how I even got there. The first thing I remember doing is opening my eyes, but all I could gather from doing that, was that I was in a very dark place. Not even a single spec of light was reaching my eyes. I tried to sit up to investigate my surroundings, but all that stressing my muscles did, was to reactivate my nerves, which overwhelmed by an immense feeling of pain all over my body.

I don't know if I blacked out or alerted *them* to my presence, but the next thing I remember, is hearing voices I didn't recognize echoing through the chambers of this apparent cave.

"I think I heard something coming from over there."

"But we already checked over there, Golbo."

"I know what I heard! Or are you the one with super hearing, Crog?"

"Hmpf"

Not knowing who I was, I thought my best bet would be to try and call out to them and tell them that I needed help. And so I did. Or rather tried to, as the only sound I managed to produce was a pained gasp for air.

The air was cold and humid. Both attributes that I found to be very unpleasant, to say the least. There must have been a water source nearby.

Probably out of pure reflex, my body exhaled that pesky air as quickly as it could, leading to me practically coughing it out. To my luck though, that seemed to be enough, to get the attention of my rescuers.

"Well. You can't deny hearing that, now can you?"

"Hello? Are you down there?"

The shouting was coming from above my head. It sounded distant, but its echoes still managed to send a shock through my skull. 'Of course I am', I thought to myself. 'Get down here and rescue me'. I tried to respond again, but I wasn't even able to create another cough like the previous one. As a matter of fact, I don't even remember if I was still breathing.

While I was lying there, desperately waiting for another response from whoever was above me, I began trying to figure out how I even got there. And while I didn't find an answer to any of the questions I had, I was able to remember one thing:

The picture of some kind of small, clear pyramid, made out of a sort of light blue crystal floating in empty space. Although there was nothing to reference it to, I knew that it was small enough for me to hold it. The crystal, which was pulsating a calming blue, suddenly changed its color into a terrifying red. It kept glowing brighter and brighter, until the memory ends with the crystal shattering into four bipyramids, one of them heading directly towards my point of view.

'What a weird memory', I thought to myself. Is there nothing in there that could answer some of my questions, instead of raising new ones?

"We're here to rescue you. If you're down there don't try to move. We are coming."

'Good, to hear something new from my rescuers.' I thought to myself. 'Not all hope seems to be lost after all.'

"Get ... others ... him alive."

I was only able to make out some of it, as they were now taking to each other again. But what I heard would have put me into confusion, if my body would have been able to do anything other than trying to recover, from whatever happened to me.

I figured I must have fallen whilst exploring this cave, but that theory would only explain what was happening right now, and neither that weird memory nor what said just then fit in there.

"Did you get the rope, Naddy?"

"Sure. You think I'm an idiot."

"OK. Give it to me..."

"We're letting down some rope. But don't try to move or grab it. We're coming down with it."

Under normal circumstances I would have demanded some much needed answers from them, but those were no normal circumstances I was in.

I tried to calm myself, thinking they would be my friends, but all I could do at the time, was to continue lying there and waiting for the next thing to happen.

This unfortunately turned out to be the nearing sound of rocks smashing against each other, as a rock avalanche was heading my way. Whether or not the stones actually hit, I don't remember, as I fell unconscious before they would have.

When I regained my consciousness, I wasn't in that wretched cave anymore. I tried to open my eyes, but only managed to do that with one of them. Doing so turned out to be of not much help either, as all I could make out were rough shapes surrounding a bright light directly above me.

Alongside that, all I could hear were their muffled voices, yelling strange words at each other, apparently describing various fruits which I later learned to be Cheri and Oran berries.

-

"Oh Daddy! Sorry to interrupt, but can I go grab some Orans for me and Cari?"

"Huh? Oh sure. - But don't take any Chestos; I want you to two in your nests in half an hour!"

"Sure. No problem!"

As Tolan leaves his and his sister's bedroom to head to the kitchen, he winks at his sister, who winks back at him.

-

We life in a nice little den I build with their mother before she passed away over three seasons ago. Our den is located quite close to the shore line, an area commonly known as the Corasona Beach. The next town is quite close by. Only about two kilometer north lies a small cottage village called Lavary.

There is a road circa two hundred meters behind, what you would call our backyard, connecting Lavary with Lamborgy, a fishermon's village, which lies quite a distance to the south.

We live alone here as far as I know, with our next neighbors living in Lamborgy and Lavary respectively. My wife, unlike other Quilava you might meet, always wanted to live near the ocean. Not to swim in it, but just to watch the setting sun in the evening.

I still sometimes take the kids and go watch it. But they don't seem to enjoy it too much. They find it boring and unexciting and compare it to having to do gardening work.

-

As Tolan returns, I can see the guilt (and sleeplessness) in his eyes.

"Tolan!" I say with a judging undertone. "You didn't coincidentally eat a Chesto?"

"Sorry daddy. It's just, that you story is so exciting!"

"Well... Not to encourage this kind of behavior, but... -sigh- What's done, is done. Now just go ahead and give the second one your hiding behind your back to you sister. I think it would be unfair if only she fell asleep while I continue my story."

"How did you know?"

"A father knows."


	2. Prisoner

"Ok. Now where was I?"

"You were just telling us how they fed you Orans and Cheries."

"Right. Well then let me continue from there on."

-

As I was lying on my back, just haven awoken from unconsciousness, I started to find the felling returning to my body. I wasn't in pain as much as I was during my first encounter with consciousness, but was still unable to move or react in any way.

I was however able to hear the voices of the creatures surrounding me. One must have discovered the fact that I was awake again and started yelling.

"He's awake!"

"What? Already? He wasn't supposed to wake up for at least another four hours! Then again, he's unlike other 'mons. Hit him with another hypnosis."

I didn't know what hypnosis was at the time, much less what a "mon" was. But I had the feeling that I should anticipate a hard hit in the head.

What happened next was obviously everything but a hit in any part of my body.

I felt as if I was out of my body, feeling no pain what-so-ever. But that's not all. It was as if I was lying on the softest straw you can think of, hearing the most soothing chirps of the most beautiful sky 'mon, you can imagine. And before I knew it, I was back to the world of dreams.

The next time I awoke, I was alone again. It was the middle of the night, as I found out quickly and it was dark where I was.

With both my eyes opened and with the help of some moonlight shining through a window on the wall to the left of me, I was able to see more clearly this time. There were bars on the other outside of the window.

The walls were lined with cabins filled with strange devices, which I assumed were for medical purposes.

In the faint moonlight I was able to see my body for the first time. Well, for the first time in all of my memories.

My shape was nothing even remotely like any of the shapes I was able to make out while I was conscious before. I had a long winded body, with no discernible neck and short, stubby arms, meant for running.

"I need to see the prisoner!" a voice thundered from outside the room.

Startled by the voices outside, I immediately tried to sit up. A mistake in hindsight, as I bonked by head on the lamp above me, which they previously used while operating on me. Luckily though, it didn't make a loud bonk in return and nobody other than me heard it.

"I can't let you go in there now!" a second, much calmer voice responded.

'Prisoner? I'm a prisoner? Of whom? Oh boy. This isn't good', I thought to myself.

"Why the heck wouldn't you let me in there?"

With the new information that was just given to me, my head began to race again. Being a prisoner of whoever definitely isn't good and I had to get out of there. Carefully testing out my legs and feet, I was able to sit upright again without hitting my head a second time.

"He is sleeping right now. He's just undergone a difficult operation and needs to rest."

"I'm the boss here. I decide when I get to see him!"

Analyzing my surroundings and myself, I figured I would never fit through the bars blocking the window.

"Let me in there or you're fired!"

"I'm the chief medical officer here. This is my jurisdiction and you can't fire me!"

"Out of my way, shell-face!"

~ CRANK ~

The door, although only made of wood, made a thunderous sound, whilst almost being smashed into pieces. And in walks a monster of a 'mon. At the time I didn't know, but what I saw was a Nidoking. With horns protruding out of his back and head and a long heavy tail dragging behind him, this thing walked into the room.

"What? The prisoner is gone! Sound the alarm! We have to get after him."

"I knew I couldn't trust you, Slowking scum!"

"What do you mean, boss?" the calm voice from before, which was now coming from behind this monster, responded.

"He's right over there." he said, while pointing at the bed I was laying in and acting asleep.

"I told you, he was asleep. So whatever it is you are planning to do with him, it'll have to wait 'till tomorrow."

"Hmph! Fine! But next time, you'll let me see a prisoner without me having to ask you twice."

-

"But daddy. Then how did you escape?"

"Well Cari. That was the easy part. You see..."


	3. Escape

After "Monster", which I called him at the time left, the Slowking and I were left alone again. Not knowing that I was actually awake, he began talking to me.

"You must be awfully important for the Boss to show up in person. Well I say that after I stood my ground to him like that. That good-for-nothing, Arceus forsaken, rotten piece of ..."

While mumbling all kinds of bad slurs, I could only imagine being insults directed at "The Monster", he proceeded to repair the door, which was completely knocked out of its hinges.

After being done with both his insults and the door, he turned to me and said:

"You know what? Screw that mon! He thinks I'm going to guard somebody who was put to sleep by a Hypno? Sorry, but I'm going home."

To my luck he actually proceeded with his plan and left. But sadly not before locking the door and taking the key with him. So I was stuck again.

But that was where my luck returned to me. He left the tools I had previously seen him use to fix the door behind. More specifically, to unscrew the hinges.

Being a Quilava, it wasn't easy to reach the upper hinge, but by moving around some of the furniture I eventually managed to reach it. After unscrewing everything and carefully opening the wrong side of the door, I was met by something I didn't expect.

Previously I imagined being kept in a small room, part of a larger complex, but instead I found myself out in the open.

It was cold outside, but most definitely bearable. It was a clear night with lots of stars and the full moon lighting up the terrain I found myself in. I was surrounded by an array of tents with only slightly muffled voices and music coming from each of them. They were all lit up and I could clearly see the shapes of various different 'mon casting shadows on the walls of their respective tents, none of which I can recall.

There was obviously some sort of party going on, or so it seemed. Later I found out that this was simply an ordinary night for that place. And partying until the early morning hours was apparently a sign of strength for them.

-

"Wow! I want to be like them!"

"No Tolan! That's not the moral, nor the end of my story."

"Yes daddy I known. I was just kidding."

-

As I analyzed my surroundings again, I noticed that nobody was actually on guard and so I was simply able to walk out of there.

-

"It was that easy, to get out of there?"

"Well Cari. It was that time... But let me continue."

-

Having no idea who I was, where I was or where I was going, I began stumbling towards by freedom, thinking about all that had happened and about that strange memory I had of that pyramid thing.

The camp was surrounded by a thick forest of very old looking trees. Those trees must have been there for at least a couple of centuries.

As I wandered the woods, thinking and rethinking all my questions and trying to come to any sort of conclusion, I didn't notice the shadows following me and hiding in the bushes next to the path I was walking.

After a while of randomly wandering around, I stopped to catch my thoughts and figure out what I was going to do next.

I sat down on a particularly large root to rest for a bit, as I felt the adrenalin I've previously been given when escaping from the camp, leave my body and being replaced by fatigue.

But at that moment destiny decided that I wasn't always going to only get on its lucky side, as a pack of four-legged, gray and black colored dog 'mon jumped out of the bushes surrounding my root.

As they formed a ring around me, I kept thinking that I was simply screwed. That my escape had been discovered and that I was going to get recaptured again.

But as it turned out, none of them started talking. Neither to me, nor to each other. They all just stood there, growling at me and showing their teeth.

After a while of this stand-off, with me again not knowing what was going on, I tried to step forward and talk to them. But before I was able to say a single word, I saw the dog to my right jump out of the ring towards me and hit me dead on in the side of my body.

I could feel a rip shatter as I was flung out of the ring of dogs and against a nearby tree, the impact leaving me with even more memorable experiences of pain.

Expecting to be eaten alive or ripped into pieces and without the power to defend myself, I was lying there and awaiting my inevitable doom.

-

"Well... I hoped you liked my story thus far. And I hope you can find your sleep, knowing that I am still here to tell you this story. But it's really getting late and I think the Chestos are wearing off."

"- Jawn - Thanks for telling us that story."

"Tomorrow I'll tell you more if it."

"- Smooch - Good night Tolan. - Smooch - Good night Cari."

"Good night daddy."

"Good night daddy."

As I leave the room, I turn off the luminous orb which had been flooding the room with its light until now. And while closing the door, I can already see my kids sleeping tightly.


	4. Visitor

\- The next morning -

~ Knock Knock ~

I wake up to the sound of knocking on the hatch to our den. Usually I always get woken by one or both of my kids jumping around me, telling me to finally get up. And there should only be a paw full of 'mon that even know of our den.

As I leave my room, I can see Tolan and Cari peeking out of theirs. They must have been woken up by the loud knocking, too. Or, more likely, they were awake already and came out to investigate like I did.

I signal them to go back inside their room, an order they apparently don't want to understand.

~ Knock Knock ~

I can hear it knocking again on the outside. This time a voice goes alongside the knocking.

"Cyder?' You home?"

I know that voice. What a relieve.

I walk to the hatch, to open it and let him inside. And sure enough: A middle-aged Treecko, carrying a blue bag around his shoulder is standing before me. A 'mon I know and love like a brother: Treek.

"Hey Treek. What are you doing here? I thought you were visiting your family in Gloom Woods."

"I was. But I'm back now. So I came by to..."

Before Treek can explain himself, I get knocked to the side by two very excited Cynderquils, yelling their greetings.

"Uncle Treek! - You're back! - We missed you! - Did you bring something for us?"

"Hehe. Hey Kids. You bet'cha I brought something for you."

"Ok kids. That's enough. Let's all get back inside and prepare some break first."

I don't have to tell the kids twice. They rush back indoors and go on to prepare some of our finer dishes for break first. When alone, we usually always eat straight out of our paws, since that is quicker and doesn't leave any dirty dishes behind that we would have to clean up afterwards. But almost every time we do so, I tell them that we can only do that when we are among ourselves. And never, when there are guests.

"Oh Cyder. No need to do that. I've already eaten and even brought some food for you guys."

"You shouldn't have."

"Sure I had to. It's the least I could do after not seeing you for such a long time."

"It's only been half a year."

"Isn't that long enough already?"

I give him a hearty smile and finally step to the side, as I just notice that I was blocking the entrance to the den the whole time, thus making it impossible for Treek to actually enter.

Inside, the kids have already prepared a small wooden table we have set aside for these occasions. I build it a little less than a year ago, during the spring when all of nature comes back to live.

It is handcrafter out of a very dark wood. But the wood isn't that dark my nature. The tree this table consists of caught on fire when I tried to teach my kids some basic fire moves last winter.

Tolan was very excited back then and thought he already mastered his Ember. He told me that and said he wanted to proof it to me. I agreed and pointed to the second stone of five, we had set up to use for target practice.

"Try to hit that one", I said to him, knowing full well that he would fail, but also knowing that he needed to see for himself that he required more practice.

He flared his fire and I was able to see the flames leaking out of his head and back, beginning to melt the snow surrounding him as he charged up his attack.

Fixated on the stone I pointed to, he opened his mouth only a few moments later to release the fire he was holding back. Only to completely miss any of the rocks and instead hit a nearby tree, which immediately began to smolder and caught on fire.

Startled by the damage he had caused and annoyed at his inability of hitting his target, he stepped backwards as I sighed.

The reason us fire-types always train our moves in the cold season, when all the still water turns solid, is because it is less likely for us to catch the terrain on fire.

But both I and Tolan had underestimated his Ember, as the sight of a burning tree trunk was reflecting from our eyes.

While Tolan just stood there shocked and I was running over to the tree, Cari grabbed a bucket of liquid water we had set aside as a precaution from inside.

With Cari's help, I was able to put out the fire and prevent it from spreading to any of the other surrounding trees.

Tolan was very ashamed of himself, but I told him that it was going to be fine. I held him in my arms and said that it was all part of the learning experience.

Since that day we always go to the beach for our fire training, but the tree that Tolan hit didn't regain any of its leaves when nature returned them to all the other trees, at which point I decided to cut it down and build the table that Treek is now sitting down next to.

"Ok kids. Gather around. You were right, in that I do have presents for you."

I take one of the platters the kids sat down with me to the kitchen, to fill it with some Orans for the four of us. We had a good harvest this year, before it got cold outside again. And we have more than enough reserves of all kinds of berries, to nourish us until it gets warmer again.

I can hear Treek presenting his gifts to my kids, while I fill the platter. From the sounds of it they are getting a new TM for a move, that scientist call Hidden Power.

As I go back to the break first table, I can see it. It is one of the older models: The ones that break after only being used once. So it looks like we're going to have a competition sooner or later, to see who gets to learn it.

As I set down the platter Treek speaks to me "You didn't need to bring food. I said I already ate and even brought some with me."

He opens the bag he brought with him, which is now sitting next to him and the table and continues by pulling out two smaller ones. One of them is making rattling sounds as Treek handles it, while the other one remains silent.

After emptying both bags on the platter next to the Orans I brought, I can count two Sitrus Berries and five Red Gummies.

"Woahh! You brought us gummies!" Cari and Tolan exclaim in unison.

We used to have a small farm for red gummies, since they truly do taste great, something that Treek never agreed to. In his opinion the Grass ones taste best. A statement to which I only responded with a shiver and the spitting out the gummy, he had handed to me back then. He later explained to me that the type of gummy you like is based on the type of your elemental core. He also talked about legends of a wondrous gummy that can be enjoyed by all elements. A legend which, to the greatest of our pleasures, turned out not to be a legend at all.

The reason why we don't have any gummy stocks in our backyard anymore isn't because of some of the ferals, who sometimes roam our land. But because Tolan and Cari were never able to hold themselves back, when I tasked them with replanting the stocks.

Seeing as there are five gummies and two Sitrus, I take one of the gummies and tell my kids to share the rest.

After having to settle them down and having to re-explain the meaning of sharing, all-the-while Treek is giggling behind his hands, I also manage to finally sit down at the table.

"So. What have you guys been up to lately?" Treek asks.

"You know. The usual. It's the cold time of the year, so we spend the day at the beach, training our fire moves."

Tolan interrupts me and says "I haven't missed a single target in the last four days."

Cari bickers back at him "You showoff. Do I have to remind you of setting that tree on fire last year?"

While I try to calm them down again and tell them to simply enjoy their gummies, Treek turns towards me and asks if that is really all we are doing the whole day.

"Well... Yes. Mostly. But like I said: It's cold, so there isn't really much of anything to do around here. No crops will grow during this time 'o year."

"Daddy is also telling us his story in the evenings."

"That's great Cari, but Cyder - that's not what I meant. I was talking about going out there and letting these kids explore the world."

"I don't think they're ready yet."

"How old are they now?"

"You know that. Three years."

"You remember how old I was, when I ran away from home?"

"You were two and a half years old", I answer with a defeated voice.

"Great! Then how about we head out for an adventure?" Treek asks the children.

"Yay! Adventure!"

'Oh Treek. I should have seen this coming from the moment you stepped through my hatch.'

After finishing our meals over some more idle conversation, during which Treek talked about his visit to his parents, everybody is in getting ready for the departure to our so-called adventure.

While I pack my good old adventuring bag, I find something slipping into my hands that I hadn't held in a long time.

It's my old exploration emblem. It's a small, white plate with a silver nugget sticking out of the middle of it. On its sides are two gold painted, wing shaped protrusions. As I turn it in my paw, my eyes fall on its backside. There, I can still clearly see four names engraved into it. Four names that I know all too well: Treek, Cyder, Mancerage and Stormcloud. I let out an audible sigh, as I read the last two names and proceed to put the badge back into my bag.

I put on my trusty hat and as I head out of my room I can see the others already and patiently waiting for me by the hatch.

"Are you all set, Cyder?"

"Yes. I'm ready to go."

"Then let's head out!"

After everybody is outside, I proceed to lock the hatch behind us and partially cover it with one of the nearby bushes.

"You're paranoid, Cyder. Nobody will ever find this place. And if they did, that little bush of yours aint gonna stop em."

Not reacting to his comment, I finish the job and rejoin him and my kids, who already seem to be way ahead of me.

While catching up to them, I can hear Cari talking to Treek.

"... But if you always have such a good time when visiting them, why did you run away when you were our age?"

"Ok. See, I had a falling out with my parents back when I was your age. They wanted me to go to Leafwood University and become a doctor of science. But I wanted to be a fighter and an explorer. To travel the lands, taking on every challenge I would encounter on the way, getting to be the strongest I could become while doing so. I wanted to fight the ferals and in the great tournaments I always used to watch in our Tele Orb."

"They told me I could still become the strongest I could be, by studying the world and outsmarting my foes. But I wouldn't have any of it."

"That is when I ran away from our clearing in Gloom Woods, something I've regretted ever since. My parents must have gone crazy with worry for me, but I didn't think of it at the time."

As he tells the story of his escape from home we reach to road connecting Lamborgy and Lavary. So I interrupt him and ask which direction we should go.

"It's an adventure. Let's let luck decide."

I agree, as he pulls out a poké coin.

"Tails and we go left, heads and we go right."

He continues, by throwing the coin in the air, then re-catching it with his right arm and slamming in on the backside of his left paw. Or that's what I am assuming he was going for, as the coin decides to change its trajectory, heading right at Tolan.

"Jautsch!" Tolan yelps.

"Ups. Sorry Tolan. I wasn't aiming for you, I swear."

As Tolan is rubbing his forehead and Cari is just sitting there giggling whilst receiving an angry glace from Tolan, the coin stops rolling across the gravel ground and shows a picture of a Meowth.

"Ok! Heads it is."

After being done laughing at Tolan, Cari exclaims "Lamborgy here we come!"


	5. Road trip

As we walk the road heading south, Treek continues to tell us the story of his escape from home.

"I traveled for weeks, trying to convince myself that I did the right thing. But the world I was faced with was nothing like I had imagined it. Instead of battling ferals and rescuing 'mons in need, I was continuously the one who required help. I was having the hardest time finding food and found myself in battle with ferals whenever I was simply trying to rest. And with no poké to call my own, I was unable to buy food or items to defend myself with."

"After a couple of weeks of walking around all kinds of places, I finally saw my chance to make some poké by rescuing somebody."

"The moon stood full in the sky as I was wandering through the Lost Woods. I was scavenging for berries or anything else to eat. That was when I saw a 'mon we all know being surrounded by a heard of Poochyena."

"What's a Poochyena?" Cari interrupts.

"What? Cyder never told you?" Treek continues.

I interrupt him yet again and looking at Cari and Tolan I say "Remember the story I was telling you yesterday? Remember the ending?"

"Wha - Are you saying that's how you and uncle Treek met for the first time?"

"Of course!" Treek says. "How come you waited this long before telling them, Cyder?"

After sending Treek the same look I've already given him before when he questioned me covering the hatch to our den, he responded.

"Right. Right. 'Mon weren't as calm about all of this stuff, as they are nowadays. But there are still a lot of them on the search. Which reminds me..."

As Treek says the last sentence, he lowers his voice to a mere whisper volume.

"... Is anybody being suspicious?"

I slowly shake my head as Cari and Tolan give us some questioning looks.

"Well then. Since it appears that Cyder has told you everything until the point of him being surrounded by Poochyena and I so blatantly spoiled the identity of his rescuer, we might as well continue the story from there on."

"Nah, Treek. How about only you tell what happened next. My part would just be another tale of me being unconscious."

"Good enough. So here's how I managed to defeat a pack of eight Poochies and safe this 'mon". While saying the last part, he gives me a friendly nudge without realizing that I let my ember boil up to counteract the cold temperatures of the weather.

After immediately jumping back and holding his left arm, which is now showing a small but noticeable burn mark, he begins his story without giving it another thought.

-

I just found a partially rotten Oran berry that one the soldiers stationed in the forest must have dropped during a Patrol. It was half way squashed into the ground by feet bigger than mine.

Knowing it was going to be the best thing I've eaten in a while, I bit down on the fruit only to immediately spit out half of it again, while the taste of rotten fruit meat was filling my mouth.

As I was trying to clean my tongue on the bark of a nearby tree, I was able to hear growling coming from nearby.

I instantly jumped around and into a battle pose, readying myself to stand up to the attacker or attackers, whilst still reserving the ability to climb the tree I was standing in front of. - An escape tactic that had already saved my life more than once before. But I was met with nothing.

Wiggling my ears, I was able to hear where the growling was coming from. Apparently the Poochyenas that owned that part of the woods found themselves a midnight snack other than me.

Relived, but not letting the anxiety leave my body, I silently crept towards where the growling was coming from. As I got closer and the growling was getting louder I began to see the dogs from behind the bushes I was hiding in.

I was able to count eight of them, surrounding what looked like a Quilava's back.

'Quilava? There shouldn't be any Quilava living around here. This is a place for Dark, Poison and Bug elements.' I thought about what he might be doing here, quickly coming to the conclusion that he must have been a messenger coming from the military base located about two kilometers further into the woods.

But what confused me most at the time was that this 'mon wasn't standing in a battle pose. He wouldn't be able to defend himself against those dogs, just standing there and not fueling his ember.

'Maybe he needs my help. This could very well be the best chance I'll get for quite a white, to make some poké.'

Before I was able to make any decision on my next move, one of the Poochyena on his right pounced forward and hit the 'mon in his flank, sending him flying towards a tree on my left and leaving him unconscious.

'I'm out of options here. Whether he's a messenger or not, he definitely needs my help.'

Dropping what I had collected thus far and using the cover of the bush I was hiding in, I decided to launch a stealth attack.

Having no time to prepare an elemental attack, I decided on attacking the nearest of the dogs with a head-butt.

Not expecting my surprise attack, he never knew what hit him; and was never destined to find out as I hit him in the head, resulting in a literally bone shattering crunch resonating from his neck.

Not actually having planned on where I was going with this daring attack, I keep my momentum until I come to a stop in the center of their ring.

Obviously enraged by the death of their comrade, the two of them next to the fallen one tailed it, whilst the rest of them decided to completely skip the growling-at-their-target part and continued by leaping onto me, fletching their teeth whilst in mid-flight.

Filled with adrenalin and still relatively unharmed at the time, I managed to roll out of the arena through the gap left by their long gone friends. But I didn't count on my kill lying in my way. And as my left foot got stuck on its torso, I felt something grab onto my right one. I didn't have to think twice about what had just happened.

The Poochyena holding me in its maw was the same one I previously saw attacking the Quilava. And it had no intention of letting go of me anytime soon.

It started pressing its teeth harder and harder into the smooth skin of my leg. Since it was the rejuvenation time of the year, my body had just shed its bark, in order to allow me to absorb the most sunlight I could through my skin. So my body was at its most vulnerable point.

Shaking its head whilst holding me I was being overwhelmed with the sensation of pain, as I slowly felt the lower half of my leg being ripped out of its socket, sending me flying into a tree opposite of the Quilava, which was leaking its own red life juice.

Before I even hit the tree, my vision narrowed and my body went into shutdown. But not before sending me the signals of losing my leg, leading me to shout out in pain and grief over my lost limb.

I thought I saw a startled flock of Pidgeys raise up from one of the nearby trees, as I hit my head on the tree and fell to the ground.

My vision beginning to spin around itself, when I was able to see the dog that dismembered me spit out my leg, while giving me the kind of smug look you would give to a fallen foe after battle and also fletching his teeth, which were painted green from my blood that was still dripping out of the corners of his mouth and the stump I now had instead of my leg.

Probably having forgotten about the Quilava, he signaled the other Poochyenas to leave. Their species is carnivorous, meaning they weren't interested in me and my flesh.

-

"The next thing I remember is falling unconscious as well."

"Oh my Arceus!" Cari shouts, as Tolan tries to wear his toughest look but only shakes uncontrollably.

"Treek.", I say. "You could have left out the part about losing your foot."

"But then they I would have had to make up the whole battle."

"I... It's... It's OK. Yeah! It's O... OK." Tolan stutters, as he tries to catch his breath.

"Hey Cyder. If I'm such a terrific story teller, how about you tell the next part?"

"Sure. Seeing as that's mostly my part again, I would have wanted to tell it in any case."


	6. P-cha

It begins to snow as we continue on our path to Lamborgy. Snow doesn't really matter to me, since it's just solid cold. Us fire types never feel cold, even at the point where other 'mons would be frozen solid. It is because we, like all the other elemental types, have our elemental cores infused into our bodies. A core made out of a pure fire, which will never go out until we die. So in the same way you can't freeze the flame of a torch, you also cannot freeze the fire of a fire 'mon. Though admittedly: the feeling of the snowflakes melting after touching my skin is not too pleasant.

I pull out a scarf from my bag and try to hand it to Treek, since his grass core makes him weaker in the cold. After declining my offer with thanks, he pulls out his own scarf from his bag, as I continue the story.

-

When I woke up it was morning I tried to sit up, but felt a sharp pain in my right flank. Putting some pressure on it with my paw, I managed to overcome the pain and get to my feet.

When I was up, I saw the sun in the sky for the first time and knew that I was not a night dwelling being. The sun threw its rays on me, heating up my body and it felt great.

Looking back down at myself in the full light of the day, I was able to see my body at its fullest.

I stood up, and looking down at it I noticed that I had a pelt. Using my free paw, I began stroking the fur. The hairs were all stuck together into strands, but the gentle stroking felt nice and I knew that this was something that every 'mon, as I would later learn to call the sentient beings of the elements, liked to feel.

Following my paw with my eyes, I looked down at my body and noticed red spots covering my torso, being more concentrated where I pressing against the sting in my chest.

After removing the paw from the focal point of the pain, it increased again. And inspecting it, I was able to see a thin red line.

'That's my blood', I thought to myself while the events from the previous night rushed back to me.

Looking around my surroundings, I was able to confirm not being taken prisoner again by the party-mons.

But as my eyes fall on the disfigured carcass of one of the dogs from last night, I started to feel sick again. Some other scavenging ferals must have come during the night to feast on it.

Looking away from the corpse again, my sight fell on another body lying to its left and the other side of the road I was now standing next to.

I dropped back down to all fours and walked over to the second body, the stinging in my flank being noticeable in every step I took.

The body of the second creature was mostly green. The same green as the leaves of a healthy apple tree during the harvest season. It had two closed eyes on each side of its head, with a light red chin spanning its full width directly below and continuing across its chest. I could see two leaf shaped tails, both ending in a lump of grassy flesh.

As I continue to analyze its body I was able to reach two more conclusions. The first one being that, unlike the dog it was still alive and breathing. And the second one being that it was missing its right foot.

Being disgusted by the thought of a missing limb, I overcame myself and tried to wake it up.

"Hey... Hey! Wake up!"

With no response other than a continuous and steady breathing, I decided to go to the next level.

As I tried my luck by shaking him awake, I finally got something different as a response: a faint and pained yelp.

"Are you the one who saved me?" I asked the creature.

'Stupid question.' I thought to myself. 'He's obviously not in a condition, where we can speak.'

"Y...es..." The creature responded, surprising me by actually being able to respond with words, but obviously having trouble talking.

"Inf...ted" it continued, while trying to nod towards its missing foot.

'He's infected? What am I supposed to do about that?' I thought, as I tried to get more information out of him.

"What am I supposed to do to help you?"

Slightly opening one of his eyes, he responded "P...cha... B...ry", while trying to stretch out one of his fingers in order to point to a nearby bush.

"What do you mean? What's a P-cha?" I responded to his odd request. But the only reaction I got this time was him closing his eye again and letting his finger go limb.

With nothing else to go on, I went over to the bush that the Treecko just pointed me towards and began searching behind it without even knowing what I was looking for exactly.

While I was looking for anything that might stand out from all the sticks and stones, I heard footsteps coming my way.

"Check it out Rip, there's someone over there!"

Hearing the voice, I remembered that I was actually a prisoner on the run. And remaining hidden in the bush I was searching for... whatever, I peeked through its branches to see a creature standing next to the Treecko I was trying to help.

It was brown, with red stripes on its stomach, cheeks and knees. It had two silver claws reflecting the sunlight instead of paws and a third one protruding from its forehead. The Excadrill, with its pointy nose, was standing next to the Treecko and was looking down the road towards a second 'mon which was heading its way.

"HAHA! Look at this sorry excuse for a 'mon; couldn't even deal with the Poochies!" the second creature began talking. It was much larger in comparison to its companion and was a gray and heavy looking beast with red plates of armor fused into its skin on its back and head; a Rhyperior. While laughing with its companion, it decided to kick the Treecko.

Failing to even flinch from the attack, the Treecko rolled further into the undergrowth as I grew with anger over such irreverence. Without thinking of the consequences or what my endgame was going to be, I was almost ready to go out there and give them a piece of my mind, when I heard a third voice that, unlike the others, I was already familiar with.

"We don't have time for this now! You can give him your best when we return with the Quilava!" It was Monster from the night before.

At that moment my stomach decided to tell me it was hungry. Emitting an audible rumbling the three of them spun around in my direction, to look for the cause of the sound.

Not daring to make a move I held my breath and froze solid, as I was able to hear my heart pounding from the tension.

After what felt like an eternity of me holding my breath, the Nidoking said "It's probably just a Poochyena that came back to claim its prey."

Lowering their guard only slightly, but still keeping their eyes on the bush I was hiding behind and remaining ready for an attack, they continued on their path.

Once they were out of sight again, I let out a huge sigh of relieve. I let my lungs flood with air again and though 'What are those guys doing here? Are they here, to look for me? Am I this Quilava, they were talking about?'

As I wondered about these questions I took a step backwards, only to step into something sticky. It probably used to be a pink berry covered with slightly brighter pink dots, more concentrated at its tip.

'Well...' I thought to myself 'This looks like something out of the ordinary.'

Not seeing anything else that might have been eatable, I headed back over to Treek on the other side of the road.

With the other 'mons gone we were alone again, while I tried to reach his consciousness a second time.

"Hey! Dude!" I whisper to him, not wanting to attract the attention of anyone else who might be in the area.

To my surprise the Treecko responded immediately.

"P...a?" He squeaked, leaving his mouth open this time.

Relieved that the kick didn't seem to have caused any additional damage, I put the dirty and partially squashed P-cha berry into his mouth.

The effects from the berry were almost instantaneous, as his strained skin began to relax, starting from around his mouth.


	7. Lamborgy

I don't know whether I only decided then or already did so before. But I was going to trust that 'mon. After all, he did save me from my fate of being eaten alive by a pack of wild hounds.

I sat down to the left of him, trying not to look at the stump he had for a leg. I don't know for how long I sat there while I wondered about what was going to happen next.

While I sat there waiting, I also noticed that my flank wasn't hurting as much anymore like it did when I woke up. Looking down at my side, I was still able to see the blood stains covering my fur. But testing the skin again with my paw didn't leave it with another strip of blood.

-

As I finish the last sentence we reach our destination. There is a wooden sign, covered in black footprint runes that spell out the words:

Welcome to Lamborgy.  
Where fish is all we have and fish is all you need.  
Population: 13?

The number at the end of the last line can't be read anymore, as it's been crossed out and overwritten too many times.

While Tolan, Cari and Treek enter the town, I stay behind and pull down my hat further in order to cover more of my face.

I've already been wearing this one for many years now. It used to be a brown-reddish color, but lost its saturation over time and now shows the color and shading of old, stretched leather. It is fitted with a large brim that extends outwards from the bottom of the hat. The brim also used to stand out straight on all sides, but like the coloration it too lost its strength and went lump. Currently, the front of it is only being held up by some sticks I've stuck underneath the cramp. Finding a new hat that's fits me and is also fireproof is literally impossible. So I just always try to stick with what I've got, repairing whatever breaks.

The streets are empty as we walk down the town's main street. Only being an alleyway by anyone's standards, it is plastered with cobblestone and has a very steep downwards angle.

Half of Lamborgy is located on a cliff, overlooking the ocean, while the other half is located at sea level. The entire town is owned by a wealthy baron who lives in a mansion at the peak of the cliff, alongside some of the wealthier 'mons, who take residence next to his mansion. From what I know his grandparents practically build the whole city, while their children and their children's children never had to lift a finger in their lives, living like kings off of the monthly rent from Lamborgy's citizens.

It is quiet, as we continue to walk the steep alley leading towards the town's market. Nobody is saying a word, while my kids are being intimidated by the daunting buildings grabbing around the tiny path. It is remarkable how much of the sky is actually being covered by the buildings. The snow that's been coming down for a while now can only be seen as a thin line, not wider than half a meter at some points, leading down the middle of the road.

When we reach the market, a cobblestone plastered ring near the docks, circa fifteen meters in diameter and with a well in its center, we encounter the first other 'mon since embarking on our journey.

It's a Quagsire who seems less than interested at our arrival. Giving us nothing more than a short glance, he continues what he was doing as he lowers an empty bucket on a rope down the well.

"Well. Here we are. This is the market of Lamborgy." Treek says, interrupting the silence while the Quagsire continues to ignore our presence and pulls his bucket, assumedly now filled with water, back up.

Treek continues, now facing Tolan and Cari. "Of course there isn't a market here right now. They only have that during the seasons of liquid water. You should see this place during that time, though. They sell every kind of fish and ocean critter you can think of. Magicarp, Krabby, Maril, Vaporeon, - You name it!"

By the time Treek is done with his explanation, the Quagsire I've been eyeballing in the meantime also finishes and walks off with his bucket of water.

After a short pause, followed by Tolan and Cari nodding in understanding, Treek continues. "But don't worry. I know an inn we can eat at, that's always open and serves fish throughout the whole year."

After saying that, Treek begins to lead our way again, this time heading for the docks.

As we walk towards the inn Treek was talking about to the kids, I continue remain silent, while keeping myself attentive to our surroundings. Even the streets of the smallest of communities are filled with all kinds of crooks these days. With all public law enforcements withdrawn to the capital and nobody caring enough to stop criminals out of the kindness of their hearts, there could very well be a rapist or worse hiding around the next corner.

Treek, while also scanning the area for any sudden movements, leads us around the harbor. Cut off from the waves of the ocean, its water is frozen solid, like all still water is at this time of the year. We can see all kinds of boats being stuck in the ice. Some modeled after 'mons, some going for a more practical design. Some barely big enough, to support a Quagsire like the one we saw before, others big and sturdy enough to be operated by an Onix. Some of them are propelled by a sail, while some use oars and manual labor. I can't see any that use Orbs to move, but that was to be expected since Orbs are hard to come by this far north.

I will never understand how the owners of these things are able to bring themselves to spend even a single second out on the ocean. But I assume that it's my elemental core preventing me from understanding.

It finally stops to snow, as we are only one more corner away from our target.

I know the place Treek is leading us to. I've been there before. But that was very long ago.

As we turn the last corner, the cliff that Lamborgy is known for falls into view. With the baron's mansion topping it and some menacing stones lurking out of the ocean below, we can see huge waves crush against the stone, leaving the water to be splashed up and returned to the raging sea alongside some freshly formed sea foam.

The Cliff can be seen from this side of the dock. It lies about one hundred meters off the end of the pier we are walking, separated by the private bay of the baron.

"Here we are! You can eat anything you like." Treek says and turning to me he continues "Don't worry. It's on me."

I nod him my thanks, to which he responds with another nod, knowing that I don't want to risk talking in public.

Inside, we are met with warmth. The inn hasn't changed a lot from the last time I was here. Upon entering, you are greeted by the building's fireplace. It is surrounded by six pillows, which were reserved for the innkeeper's kids the last time I was here. I don't know why I expected to see the six Marils again, without having grown a centimeter after all this time. And obviously they aren't here anymore.

As I enter the place my eyes immediately fall on the table directly to the right of the fireplace. But before I could start thinking about it, I, alongside everyone else, get greeted by an up-beat Azumaril.

"Welcome to Azura-Inn, dear customers. May I show you to your table?"

I nod in response while Treek knocks off the snow that had been collecting itself on his head and scarf, before also entering and closing the door behind himself.

We aren't the only customers of the inn. While leading us to our table I can see a Marshtomp sitting at the counter, enjoying a beer.

"If you'll take your seats", the Azumaril says whilst almost bowing before us and pointing at an empty table in front of a window with view to the private bay of the baron.

"Now don't go anywhere. I'll be right back with your menus."

The desk is surrounded by four pillows. Leaving the window spots to Tolan and Cari, I sit down next to Tolan on the left side, while Treek takes the remaining empty pillow next to Cari and across the table from me.

Almost immediately after, Azumaril is handing us the menus and asking what we would like to drink.

"So guys. What would you like to drink?"

"We'll take two medium pressed Sitrus juices for the kids and two large ones for us", Treek responds to the question.

"Oh! Sorry sir, but I'm all out of Sitrus; Oran OK?"

"Ugh! Fine."

"Ok. Right away !"

Azumaril returns to the kitchen and I can start hearing her mixer making sounds. It is making its sounds sporadically, meaning that the orb powering it is running out of juice itself, or more likely, seeing as this town isn't traveled much, that it is simply a hand powered one.

I begin to study the menu that was given to each of us.

-

~ Today's Special ~

Flambéed Mudkip with Luvdisc fins. 1200 poké.  
Comes with: Pecha salad + Large bowl of various fruit.

~ Culinary Extravagances, You'll only find here ~

Imported Piplup leg. 800 poké.  
Feast like a Dewgong.

Gourmet Lapras Steak. 700 poké.  
Served in its own shell.

Gyarados fin. 650 poké.  
Comes with: A salad of you choosing.

Clamperl dish. 600 poké.  
Serving 8 Clamperls directly to you!

Gourmet Relicanth. 800 poké.  
Comes with: Hammer

Buizel Tail. 550 poké.  
The chef's recommendation.

~ For the Love Birds ~

Luvdisc Spaghetti. 900 poké.  
Half price, if you'll stay for the night.

Swanna Beak. 600 poké.  
You can take it with you.

~ For the herbivore ~

Berries. 200 poké.  
3 berries of you choosing.

~ Kids Menu ~

Any other menu at half its size! *  
Comes with: 2 collectable Pokémon Trading Cards (We've got Charizard!)

~ Desert ~

Vanillite Whipped Cream. 450 poké.  
Very tasty.

* Price: 2/3 of original

-

As I finish reading the menu, I feel kind of sorry for Treek. They literally only have one dish, that he can eat without vomiting everything out afterwards.

"Get your hands away from Quill!" Treek shouts out spontaneously.

Not knowing, what the cause for Treek's reaction is, I duck my head and spin around only to be faced by a startled Marshtomp. It is the same Marshtomp I saw before when entering the inn. He is holding a mug of beer in his right fin while stretching out his other, stopping only centimeters away from my shoulder.

"I just wanted to see how you *hick* guys are doing", he starts to babble.

"Yeah? Well, we. are. doing. just. fine!" Comes a response from Treek, while pressing his teeth together.

"K. Then what's the deal with this 'mon? Can't talk for him *burb* self?"

"He's a war veteran! He gets PTSD from being touched and lost his voice cords in the war!"

"Oh! I'm... - *huff* - ahh. I'm terribly sorry, bro!"

"Is there a problem?" the innkeeper Azumaril asks from behind her counter.

"Nah! Nah! Every-finn's faaaiiinnn." Comes the response from the Marshtomp, as he returns to the counter to finish up his beer.


	8. Revealed

After eating our fill, I shared the flambéed Mudkip with the kids while Treek went with the bowl of Berries, we find ourselves ready to leave again.

The Marshtomp must have left while we were eating, as we leave Azura-Inn alone to its innkeeper.

"Uff. I'm stuffed. I don't think I can make it all the way back home", comes a statement form Tolan, while Cari is letting her tongue hang out and rubs her belly with her right paw.

"We'll see what we can do. But first: let's get out of the town. It's already starting to get dark and it won't get safer if wait and do nothing." Treek knows just as well as me how dangerous cities can get at night.

I summon a small flame in my paw, to help us see where we are going. It's already dark enough for me to see the clear reflection of the fire in the ice covering the pier. And although it already stopped snowing before we even entered the inn, the sky is still covered with dark clouds blocking out the sun.

'This wouldn't have been an evening, where my wife would have watched the sunset', I think to myself.

Not wanting to depress myself, I shake the returning memories of her death away and focus on what is happening right now.

Instead of going back the way we came, we take a shortcut. An unpaved path is leading up the cliff next to the baron's bay. This path doesn't have any streetlights. Not that any of the town's street lights are actually activated during the night, since the town can't afford to import the Luminous Orbs required for powering them. And while the last time I was here I was only out only during the day, I assume that the streets were still being lit back then.

The war has led to many supply routes with the neighboring lands being cut off. I don't even know where the few orbs you can get your paws on nowadays come from. And from what I know, only the military and the capital are still able to afford using any of them.

Orbs were once a very common thing, with every 'mon being able to afford them in practically ever field of application you can think of. Not everybody can still afford to use Luminous Orbs for lighting. And even the supply of orbs I have lying around is running smaller every day. Pretty soon and we will have to resort to using candle fire or our own flames to guide us late at night.

"I don't think I can go much further", Tolan moans.

"Psst." whispers Treek "We don't know who might be listening to us. No need to tell them that you're too stuffed to defend yourself in case of an attack."

We press on and continue on the uphill path we are walking. Not being paved, the ground is made out frozen dirt. There are steps cut into the ground to help us walk. So even though the ground is slippery from the thin layer of ice covering it, we at least don't have to worry about slipping and sliding back down to the pier.

Carefully lighting the way with the flame I'm carrying, I try to take precautions not to fall while I go up the steps.

But Cari, not being able to sustain her own flame to light her way and having to rely on mine, overlooks one of the steps and falls. Out of reflex she tries to catch her fall with her forearms, but due to the slippery nature of the ground her right arm skids to the right in a very uncomfortable angle, leaving her to break the fall with her head.

"AH! My arm! I think it's broken!" she yells.

Treek, starting to show some of the paranoia I've been having since entering the town whispers while clenching his teeth "Psst. What did I just say?"

After a short moment he continues "Can you still walk?"

Now sitting on the step she fell on, she holds the elbow with her left paw. And with tears of pain rolling down her face she whines "No... *sniff* It's really broken."

Extinguishing the light in my right paw, I take her into my arms in a way that doesn't put any stress on her broken bone. With her head pointing to my right and me having a firm grip on her body, I whisper into her ear "It's OK. I've got you now."

Looking around paranoid, Treek turns to me and says in a low tone "I don't think we can make it out of town, before transporting. I know we'll risk being seen, but we won't be able to make it far without you lighting the way."

With Cari's body already starting to heat up as a response to her injury it is out of the question for Treek to carry her. He'd be nothing but a pile of ash before even taking two steps. And while Tolan already learned how to sustain a flame outside of his body, his Cynderquil body just doesn't have the required stamina to do so indefinitely.

I set Cari back down onto the step she fell on and proceed to rummage through my bag. I'm looking for my exploration badge. And I remember holding it in my paws, before we left on our journey.

Beginning to get worried that I forgot it at home, or even worse that it was stolen, it finally falls into my paws as I pull out a white emblem with a nugget in the center.

"I know we've never used this before", I whisper to Tolan and Cari, "But Treek is right, in that we won't be able to make it out on foot."

While Treek monitors the path in both the direction we came from and the one we were heading to, I continue my explanation of what was about to happen.

"I need you two to hold onto the wings. Now, you're going to get a weird feeling when I activate the emblem. But under no circumstances are you to let go. Do you understand?"

After nodding and hastily grabbing onto the wings, I turn to Treek. In the dimmed light surrounding us I can see him nodding to me, signaling that I can go ahead.

I press the nugget in the center of the badge which springs back into place after being pressed down. A moment later the nugget starts to glow; a glowing that spreads through the wings and continues to envelop my frightened children.

The glow being emitted from the nugget and my kids lights up all of our surroundings. I can see my reflection on the icy ground and can make out the barren branches of the trees surrounding the path.

"GO!" Treek shouts, as I look up to see what he is shouting about.

He is looking the way we came from, towards the silhouette of some 'mon which is heading our way.

I give it no second though as I press the nugget again, thereby confirming the transport's additional passengers.

Only moments later we find ourselves on a beach. The sky doesn't look too different. It is still being covered with dark clouds, as I can see the last of the day's sun being swallowed by the ocean throwing its waves onto the beach.

We are a bit further up the beach. And with no sign of anyone being there but us, and no visible footsteps in the sand and snow covering the beach, we appear to be safe at last.

"We were seen! They saw us! How could I let this happen! Have I learned nothing in all this time? Why did I have to drag all of you there?"

I try to calm down Treek while he is running circles around me and my kids, telling him that it's going to be fine.

"Calm down, Treek. We're save now. Whoever that was probably didn't even know what he saw."

"You really think this won't leave repercussions? Those badges were outlawed and we both know why. By using one of them in public, we might as well have told everyone that you're the holder."

"Please calm down. What's done is done. You couldn't have known that we weren't going to be alone. Who knows? That 'mon might have just been a crook or some drunk. The chance of anybody trusting even a single word he'll say is minimal at the very least."

Calming down a little and stopping to run around me in circles, Treek responds "Why are you so calm about all of this? It's you they're after! You should be the one who is worried sick, after we just blew our cover like that. If they'll investigate this, they'll find out that it was your emblem that got activated. They'll come looking for you in the thousands!"

"I know this might not be the end of it, but..." I try to plead my case.

"Then why are you so calm about this?" I get blared at again.

Glancing over to Tolan and Cari interestedly looking back at us, Treek follows my eyes.

"Oh! Because of them? You want to protect them? How? By not telling them who you are and relying on pure luck to go undetected?" he shouts at me.

"You shouldn't drag them into this!"

"But they're already way deep in this whole mess. They're you kids, for Arceus sake! And you know they'll stop at nothing to get to you."

"Oh! So now you're saying it's my fault or what?"

"NO! But... But..."

"The connection has shut down by now. Nobody will be able to trace where we got send anymore. Let's just try to get back to the den and sleep for the night. It's still about two kilometers away from here", I say while pointing north at the tree line. "So getting back isn't going to be easy, without me being able to light the way."

I pick Cari back up and signal Tolan and Treek to follow before beginning to trot along the border of the beach next to the trees, heading to where my home is waiting for our return.

"Who are you?" Cari asks me with a scared voice.

I gently stroke my free paw over her ear while she looks at me with worried eyes. "I'm your Father. And you're my daughter. And who I am to other 'mons, is a long story. A story I've only begun telling you."

 _## - End of Season 1 - ##_

 _Author Note:_  
 _There we go! That's the end of season #1 for you. A lot of stuff happening in this last chapter, I know. But don't worry - I've already written most of season #2 so you should stay tuned to see what happens next, as more is definitely to come._  
 _And don't forget to leave your feedback for me. Positive or negative; it doesn't matter and I'll read it all._


	9. Fracture

_Authors Note:_  
 _Welcome to the second season of PMD - Holders._  
 _Like last time, I'll be uploading this season with one chapter per day._  
 _This season's chapters have gotten a bit longer, leading to it consisting of chapters 9-15. But like last season, it still consists of more than 10000 words._  
 _I hope you'll continue to like and read the story, as stuff starts to really get going this time._  
 _Fanfiction: www¸fanfiction¸net/u/7545584_  
 _Deviantart: www¸grieferatwork¸deviantart¸com_

We've finally reached the den again and it's just like we left it, but it wasn't easy to get here during the darkness of the night. Tolan was able to partially light the way by only casting his flame of a few seconds at a time. I'm truly proud of him, but I know that doing that must have taken a lot out of him. Yet with his help and our intimate knowledge of the terrain we didn't have any more hiccups on the way.

Cari fell asleep in my arms while we were walking and now appears to be sleeping a very restless sleep.

We stand in front of the entrance to the den and I instruct Treek to fish the key out of my bag and unlock the hatch. After he finds it and unlocks the door, I'm the first to enter, heading straight for the table we held our break first at in the morning.

Our used dishes are still covering its top, as I use my foot to sweep them off the table while balancing Cari in my arms. They are made out of metal, meaning that while not shattering into pieces, them falling to the floor is still resulting in loud clattering sounds.

I lie Cari down on the now empty table and continue by trying to turn on a luminous orb in the corner.

'Damn', I think to myself, as it doesn't turn on. 'We must have forgotten to turn it off in the morning. - As if we don't have enough problems already.'

"Tolan. I need you to bring me a new luminous orb from the storage in the back."

Without any auditory responds from him, I can hear him running off into the back to where we store the remaining orbs we still own.

Shortly after Tolan is gone, Treek steps up to me and not knowing what he's supposed to do, he asks with a concerned voice. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I don't know yet", I say while stroking Cari's head as she lies on the table.

It is dark and I can't see her properly. But she must have woken up from the sounds of the dishes hitting the ground, as she starts talking to me with a weak but steady voice. "I'm fine daddy. Let's just deal with this in the morning."

"I'll be the judge of that", I tell her as the room is suddenly lit up by a clean and warn white light.

Tolan set's down the Orb and I'm able to see Cari's broken arm clearly now. While she is letting both of her arms hang down her torso, I can see her right one changing its angle mid-way and pointing away from her stomach towards the right.

I breathe in deeply to tell her the good news. "Uh. I'm sorry Cari, but fixing this could hurt just a tiny bit."

"Is it really that bad?" She asks, not daring to look at the injury herself.

"I've seen worse", I try to cheer her up while pushing aside some hairs from her face. - A statement that isn't even a lie.

Wasting no time with the operation, I walk over to the other side of the table and begin uttering instructions to her.

"I need you to roll onto your right flank." I say as she follows immediately while pressing her teeth together to suppress the pain.

After she finished changing her orientation I speak to Treek again. "There is something you can do now". Looking down at Tolan I can see the apparent fright in his eyes, completely overriding his fatigue. "Tolan, I need you to take Treek and get some string and a plank we can use as a brace."

Smiling at Cari I continue to stroke her head, almost playfully moving around a small bundle of hairs above her forehead.

"Daddy?" She asks me, to with I respond immediately.

"Yes."

"Are we going to be OK?" She says with a concerned voice.

I know she isn't referring to her broken arm. She knows just as well as I do that I'll be able to fix that. No, she is referring to the dialogue that Treek and I had back at the beach.

Forgetting to uphold my act as a strong father figure, I say to her "I don't know if things will work out for us". Noticing the mistake I just made, I hastily add "But I do know that we'll be OK for the time being."

Before Cari can respond again, Treek and Tolan have already returned with the items I've requested from them before.

I nod to them and look back down to my daughter looking back up to me, purposefully avoiding having to look at her arm.

"OK. As I said, this might hurt for just a moment."

She closes her eyes, bites on her tongue and gives me a small nod before I continue.

I grab her arm above and below the fracture and look her straight into her closed eyes, before quickly proceeding with the operation as I can start to see smoke coming from the table. In hindsight, it might not have been the greatest of ideas to fix the broken arm of a firemon on top of any wooden furniture.

"Aiiiii!" Comes a loud cry of pain from Cari as I straighten her arm.

The shock must have sent her back into the land of unconsciousness, as I caress her hair once more without her responding to it this time. While whispering a sorry she wasn't going to hear, I take the plank and string which were being handed to me for some time now and proceed to strap it to her arm to straighten the fracture.

After being done, I continue by picking her up from the ever so much stronger smoking table and carry her to hers and Tolan's room.

As I carefully pass my Treek, making sure not to accidentally let him come into contact with my daughter and her inner ember is flaring, I tell them to try to cool down the table before it catches on fire again.

I continue to head down the corridor leading to her sleeping quarters, where I gently put her to rest in her nest before heading back to the living room, where Tolan and Treek are still waiting for me, not saying a single word to each other.

"You did a really good job with your ember, lighting the way from the beach", I break the silence by talking to a very exhausted looking Tolan. "But you should join your sister in sleep. I need to talk to Treek alone."

Unlike usually, he instantly follows my request and heads to the room I just came from. And after waiting a moment for the sound of the door to their room, I turn to Treek and begin a very serious conversation with him.

"OK Treek. First off: I'm sorry for what I said before. You're completely right. I can't just look at this as a hiccup. We haven't even considered the fact that someone else might have seen the light of the transport. We were directly across the baron's bay. The mansion's staff or even the baron himself might have seen us."

"Wow", come's the response from Treek, not having expected me to suddenly accept his point of view. "I haven't even though of that. But what's with this sudden shift of opinion?"

"I don't want to frighten them more than they already are." I say while obviously referring to my kids. "They were there when their mother died. And while they were too young to remember it consciously, I know that their subconsciousness was there to record the events."

"I didn't think of that. I'm really sorry, Cyder. I know how much they mean to you."

"Don't apologize. You're the only friend I can still trust in this world of ours. I should have never been so rude to you in front of my kids. But we have more pressing matters to attend to right now. What do you think we should do next?"

"For right now? You should stay alert and at home. - It's winter and you're not affected by the cold weather like most others 'mons are, so time is on your side. I'll be volunteering to do some reconnaissance in Lamborgy during the next couple of days. See if somebody's investigating the incident and try to see if that 'mon that saw us is doing anything about it."

"Thank you, Treek. And try not to get discovered. Remain in the shadows and don't come out for anything. But do you have any idea who that 'mon was that saw us escaping? All that I remember seeing was the vague outlines of... well something."

"I think it was the Marshtomp that tried to stalk you at the inn. But I'm not totally sure if it really was him."

"Would make sense, considering he's the only one who would have had a motive to follow us. Because let's face it, there shouldn't have been any way that some random 'mon just happened to take the same shortcut we did at the exact same time."

"It could have also been that Quagsire we saw at the well."

"I don't think so. He seemed less than interested in us. But we can't rule out anything at this point."

"Right. But Cyder. Ahmm about my stay here..."

"I'm surprised you even have to ask. You can stay here for as long as you want. It's going to be just like the old day. Just make sure you're not seen or followed, or leave behind a trail that somebody could use to get here when you're coming and going."

"Don't worry Cyder. Or should I call you Captain? You know, because you mentioned the old times."

"You didn't call me that back then either. So just continue to stick with Cyder."

With the conversation ending, I am about to leave but turn around to face Treek again. "Just sleep on the straw next to the table for now. I'll set up a real nest for you in the morning."

While I leave the living room to head to my own nest, I can see the light of the luminous orb fading and can hear Treek wishing me a good night, to which I respond with a good night wish myself while preparing for a very restless night.


	10. Night horrors

I'm in a murky, rocky tunnel. It is very dark and the walls absorb most of the light of a flame I am carrying.

I know what I have to do as I walk down the narrow corridor with Treek and Stormcloud following closely behind me. We've been preparing for this journey for a while now and everything is set up for success.

I turn a corner, waving my friends to follow me. I know where I'm going because I've previously obtained a map of these tunnels. They are remnants of an old mineral mine that was abandoned when the miners couldn't continue onwards, when the vein they were mining crossed paths with an underground stream of lava.

It is very hot and I can see Treek wipe some sweat off his head, while Stormcloud behind him constantly tries to cool herself off by re-moisturizing her forehead.

Dragging a water' and a grass type down into a labyrinth of molten stone and rusty metal beams might not seem like a good idea from the outsider's point of view, but I have everything planned out and am confident that nothing should go wrong.

'After all: they have no reason to take any drastic measures, since that wouldn't get them what they want. - Me.' I think to myself as I can hear a foreign voice manifesting itself in my head.

"I know you're there, Cyder. And let me tell you: it's awesome for you to finally show up", the voice says, with its echoes remaining inside my head for a few more seconds. It is the voice of a telepath, meaning that we haven't actually been discovered as of yet.

I turn around to see Treek looking at me. The voice had been sending on a wide band broadcast, meaning that everyone in the vicinity was able to hear it.

He nods to me as I turn back to the path I'm walking, now pushing onwards faster than before.

We finally reach our destination as we stop one corner away from a large room that represents our goal and should be the source of the telepathic voice we heard before. A red and very hot light is radiating around the corner, causing Treek to wipe more sweat out of his face.

I signal him and Stormcloud to stop, as Stormcloud walks up and now stands next to Treek.

Silently, I lift the hood of the bag I'm carrying and take out a pair of goggles. They are X-Ray Goggles. They allow me to see whoever might be awaiting our arrival around the next corner.

Holding them up to my eyes, I stare through a wall and check out the room behind, while my team is patiently waiting next to me, ready to move at the first sign I give them.

Through the glasses I can only count four live signs. Two of them are huddled in a corner on the left side of the room; another, very strong one, is located in the center of the room, while the forth one is suspended in midair above the strong one.

While I analyze the room, the telepathic voice starts talking again. "I know you Quilava can swim in lava and even enjoy doing so..." Even though hearing the voice, I am not able to trace its origins to anywhere within the room. "... But let's see how long you can hold your breath whilst being submerged in your favorite element."

I put down my glasses as another, female voice I know can be heard: "Cyder?!" This voice isn't being transmitted through the powers of a telepath, as its origin is clearly located inside the cavern around the corner.

I hold the glasses up to my eyes again for a moment and I can see the live signature of the suspended creature slowly being lowered.

I waste no more time and put the glasses away at once, while signaling my team what I just saw and the fact that I can only make out one foe. But they know just as well as I do, that when we walk in there we shouldn't expect only having to deal with one enemy.

I continue with our original plan and pull a small glass shard out of by bag. On its side I can see a name tag telling me it's a Sharded Invisify Orb. Is works just like a regular Orb, but only being a shard, it is much easier to carry than having to drag a whole glass sphere around.

I don't have to explain how it works while Treek and Stormcloud grab onto the shard and I continue by breaking it into two pieces, leading to a weak light which cannot be seen from around the corner to engulf us, as our surroundings start to wobble for a bit and we lose sight of each other.

Like I had previously discussed with them, I whisper the word "go" to signal the team to head into the room.

I immediately follow ahead and can feel Stormcloud running past me. A sprinkle of her water is landing on my arm, but sizzles away before I even notice.

"Ah! How nice for you to show up in person. And you even brought friends with you!"

The owner of voice stands in the center of the room, looking straight into my eyes. It is Monster.

Confused, I turn around to see Treek and Stormcloud blinking in and out of view. And as I look down my body, I can see that the same thing is happening to mine as well.

A voice from above my head starts shouting at me "No Cyder! It's a trap. You've been set up!"

Looking behind me, I can see a bolder falling into place in front of the entrance to the cavern, thereby cutting off any possibility of getting out of here the way we came in.

'There must have been a leak.' I think to myself, while grinding my teeth. 'Somebody must have informed them of our plan.'

Almost as if reading my mind, Monster responds. "Don't worry Cyder. We knew you'd try to sneak in here, so we set up some interference as precaution from your magic tricks."

I spin around again and my sight immediately falls behind Monster, where I can see my lovely wife hanging by her arms on a metal chain slowly coming down from the ceiling, as she is being lowered into a pool of lava directly below her and behind Monster.

While I try to come up with a new plan, sending Monster a furious look while showing my teeth, he continues to talk with the calm and reasonable, almost friendly voice he always uses when speaking with me. Only once have I ever been able to hear him lose his temper when speaking with me.

"Since you brought some friends with you, I guess I should introduce you to some of mine as well."

As he says that a loud rumbling noises can be heard from all around us. More than a dozen ground' and rock elementals suddenly shoot out of the ground, forming a semi-circle of bodies all around us. The still hidden telepath must have been concealing them from being detected before we came in.

"Cyder! You might want to hurry it up there..." Comes another cry for help from my wife, as her feet are already starting to touch the surface of the lava pool. Swimming is lava is different from swimming in water. Water 'mons often talk about floating through the ocean, but when a fire type swims in lava he just falls to the bottom of the pool he's in, meaning that we must always know how deep a pool is before it can dare to put a paw in it.

Wasting no more time and sensing the tension running through the air, I immediately try to negotiate with Monster.

"It's me you want, right? Then just take me and let her go!"

"Oh! I don't think so." He responds. "Things between us have gotten personal since last time." While glimpsing at Treek and Stormcloud standing next to me he continues talking to me. "But don't worry; you'll not be among those who will fall today."

"Wait!" I try to argue. "Just let everyone go and I will follow willingly."

"Sorry Cyder. Not today." Monster responds, still using a voice way too calm to actually be appropriate for the situation.

"Cyder!" I can hear the voice of my wife again, as most of her body is now submerged in the boiling hot stone. I can see the links of the chain holding her starting to glow red.

"Safe the kids", she says while trying to point in the corner of the room where two Cynderquil cubs can be seen cowering together in fright.

"Let her GO!" I scream at Monster, panic becoming audible in my voice.

Dashing around Monster, I try to run to her but get cut off by a Graveler obviously unwilling to step aside and let me pass.

Somehow managing to peek around him, I can see that only my wife's head is sticking out of the lava now as she speaks to me again. "I love you", I can hear say, barely whispering her words in my direction as lava starts flowing into her mouth before the rest of her head is swallowed by the molten rock.

Only seconds remain to save her life. Filled with rage and still counting on that possibility, I yell "Attack him NOW!" while pointing at Monster.

Monster, probably having expected such a move commands his minions to attack us as well.

"Seize them!" He shouts.

Suddenly Treek runs up to me and rips the bag off of my shoulder. And with the ring of enemies surrounding us being focused on me, he is able to break out and starts heading towards the two Cynderquil cubs lying across the room.

Not expecting his betrayal and too focused on the rage against the beast that truly deserves its title of being called ~Monster~, I don't even notice how he rummages through the bag on his way and pulls out my exploration badge.

A few moments later, Stormcloud and I are being crushed by the weight of the rock creatures that previously formed the ring surrounding us. But not before being able to unleash our own elemental attacks aimed at Monster.

I can't see what is happening but I can hear his pained screams, as the knockback of our sudden attacks aimed at him must have been enough to push him backwards, leaving him to tumble into the pool of lava that had already swallowed my wife.

"AHHH!" I can hear his last breaths leave his throat, as the whole cavern is enveloped by a brilliant burning flame that once was a Nidoking.

But I couldn't care less about the death of my adversary. Not if it also meant the death of my beloved wife.

"LET US GO!" I yell at the stone creatures who don't know what to do with us now that their master had been killed. And while still not releasing much of their weight from our bodies, I can see parts of a broken link of the chain that once held my wife above the pool, glowing red and melting away as the majority of the chain has already been swallowed by the pool, alongside the Quilava it was holding.

"NOOOO!" I release an ear shattering yell with my eyes fully opened and staring at the chain. I know it is the loudest yell that ever managed to escape my mouth during my entire life, but I don't care for any comparisons right now.

A bright light is engulfing me and Stormcloud, as Treek must have used the badge he had taken from me to transport us out of the chamber.

A moment passes and I no longer feel the crushing weight of the rock creatures pressing down on my bones. "You killed her!" I yell at Treek, not looking up at him or my new surroundings while keeping my eyes closed and my body limb.

"You killed her! She's dead! Drowned in lava! It's entirely your fault."

I collapse into a pile of misery, as Treek starts talking back at me. But I wouldn't wave any of it.

"Lydia. Why?" I simply continue to whimper, not giving Treek any chances of explaining himself.

I can feel my ember flaring up and dying down every few seconds, while my emotions continue to run wild.

Someone is dragging me away from wherever I am, but I'm barely able to recognize the signals my body is sending me about it.

A few moments have passed before I start to get some sort of feeling over my body back. Yet I can already feel my tears dropping to the ground, while hearing the cute sounds of two concerned Cynderquil cubs next to my ears. I don't know for how long they've already been trying to comfort me. I don't even know how much time had already passed since our escape. But I can feel their presence, as they try to lick my fur clean from the tears that are still flowing out of my eyes.

"We could have saved her", I whimper before I finally open my eyes.

-

I find myself lying in a nest inside of my den, as the dream begins to fade away. My nest is in a state of pure mess, with some of the straws flung across the whole room. But too focused on my dream I couldn't care less. Especially because I know this dream wasn't just a dream. - It was bitter reality. And at this point, it was part of my history.

Wiping away the tears I appear to have brought with me from the land of dreams, I take a deep breath and try to stand up from the remaining straw that hadn't been scattered across the floor.

'I'm at home and it was just a dream.' I try to convince myself. 'And there is nothing I can do about it anymore.'

I notice the faint moonlight falling through the window on my wall, as I continue to ponder my thoughts while staring into the night sky. 'The gates have broken and the point of no return has been crossed.'

I know I can't fight the emotions anymore and fall back onto the remaining straw of my nest, before once again starting to cry over the memories I am forced to carry.


	11. No more charades

I had trouble falling asleep again that night. Not because what remained of my nest couldn't provide any reasonable amount of comfort to me, but because I wasn't able to find any peace. And when I finally wake up the next day, the sun is already at its peak, shining its rays though the small, circular window across the room from where my nest was supposed to be. With our den mostly being built underground it could be better described as a tunnel with a thin glass pane near the end, leading to the outside world.

Despite the time of day it is still very quiet. But considering what happened the day before, I shouldn't be expecting anything else.

I stand up and search for the courage I need to head out into the day, and while looking at the sunlight shining into my room I am able to find it. As I leave my sleeping quarters to head to the living room, I can see Tolan and Cari playing cards on the ground. Despite noticing my arrival they continue to play without honoring me with a single glance.

"Morning kids." I greet them after focusing my thoughts, trying to get their attention.

Finally responding to my presence, they decide to return the greeting and hesitatingly wish me a good morning as well.

"Your arm looks much better today", I say to Cari as she drops the cards she was holding in her other paw.

"Yes", she says without any apparent emotions or actually looking up at me. "It's felling much better today. - Thanks."

"Have you already eaten?" I ask them.

"A bit", Tolan answers, still cutting the conversation short before deciding to expand on his explanation. "Treek left some behind before he headed out to Lamborgy."

"I assume he told you why he was going."

"Yes", Cari responds, not sharing Tolan's determination of answering in a full sentence.

"Listen kids." I say while sitting down next to them. "I'm going to be honest with you. Something happened yesterday that shouldn't have happened. And as a result we might have to leave our home in the near future."

After a short pause of not receiving any responses, I continue. "But it's really nothing for you to be afraid about. We're all going to be fine. And when Treek comes back later, we'll know for sure what's going to happen."

Not very impressed by my speech, I try to cheer them up by changing the subject. "Now if you ask me, I'm starving right now. You want to go grab something to eat with me?"

Not answering my latest question, Tolan drops the cards he was still holding and decides to help up his sister. I wait for them to both get up, before turning my back and heading for the kitchen.

On the way there, I can hear Cari finally breaking the silence.

"You said I'm you daughter." She begins slowly. "And you say that I should only think of you as my father..."

I stop in my tracks, giving Cari my full attention as she continues after a short pause.

"But if you're more than that in the eyes of others, what are we to them?"

I lean my head against the wall of the corridor leading to our kitchen, as I was afraid of a question like this one. I can feel their eyes penetrating my head, patiently waiting for the next thing I'm going to say while I'm standing there, wondering about how I'm going to answer Cari's question. Outweighing the consequences of telling the truth against the blissful ignorance I could bestow upon them by leaving their minds free of horrible burden they'd have to help me carry if I'd decide to tell them everything.

Standing up straight again and turning around, I continue to think about the decision I have to make while looking them into their expecting eyes.

'For how much longer would I even be able to keep up the charade?' I wonder to myself. 'Telling them everything now would just increase the risk they are already living in. But Treek was right when he argued that they're my kids. And knowing about the risks and stakes this world has already had me dealing with for all this time, might actually be helpful to them.'

Closing my eyes and taking in another deep breath, I finally reach a decision.

"You might think that what I'm about to tell you will only affect the relations between the three of us. When in fact it was this truth that lead to everything: - The grim world we now live in. - The fact that we always hide from civilization in this den." I swallow, before I continue with my next sentence, as tears start to form in my eyes again. "The reason... your mother is no longer here with us."

Wiping away the tears in my eyes and dropping on all fours to be on the same eyelevel as my kids, I continue after I finish to wiping away the tears.

"' You want to know who you are in the eyes of the world?" I ask with an increasingly more shaky voice.

I breath in deeply again and try to suppress more tears, for what I need to say next is already breaking my heart.

"You're only tools; tools to get to me."

I sniff and wipe some of the newly formed tears out of my eyes. "They only want to use you, just like they used your mother. They thought they could bring me out of hiding with her. But when I came for her, they... they..."

I'm not able to finish my last sentence, when tears start flowing uncontrollably out of my eyes and into my mouth and drop from my chin in thick rivers of salty water.

I drop down to my stomach and roll onto my side, spreading out my legs and wiping away the tears with my paws.

"I don't want anyone to take you away from me", I snivel while being barely able to produce any coherent sounds what so ever.

I can feel a foreign paw caressing my stomach. It feels just like it did when I saw the sun for the first time. Opening my burning eyes, I can see the fuzzy image of Cari trying to comfort me by petting my flank. Despite her broken right arm, she manages to use her left one while still looking at my face with her worried eyes. I can see Tolan walking up to me, spreading his arms in an attempt to hug me.

I close my eyes again and can feel his soft fur pressing against my head.

"It's OK, dad", he says. "But what's done is done."

I always use that expression when I try to cheer them up. Or when I don't feel like scolding them for something they did.

I continue to lie in the hallway for a while before my eyes finally decide to run out of tears to shed. At which point I open them again and try to sit up.

Sensing my movement, Cari and Tolan stop their caressing and allow me to do so. And with my back leaning up against the wall I was pressing my forehead on before, I continue with a very weak and shaken voice.

"' You see this scar?" I ask while pointing a paw at the center of my forehead.

Not expecting such a question, Tolan responds confused. "Yeah? You told us you got it in a cave in a long time ago."

"That sadly isn't the truth. - Although I wish it were."

After taking in another deep breath, I continue without giving it another thought. "This is why everyone is after me. This scar, with its particular shape, is what makes me special in the eyes of the world and marks me as what they call a holder."

"A scar?" Tolan asks.

"It's not the scar itself." I continue, slowly regaining a grip on my voice. "It's what lies behind it, embedded in my skull and connected to my brain, that makes them want to take ahold of me so desperately."

Breathing in deeply again, now that I finally crossed the point of no return I continue.

"I think the best way for you to understand your place in all of this, is to further understand mine." With these words I push myself up from the wall I've been leaning against. I feel confident, as I look back down into the eyes of my children looking back up to me. I just know that I must have done something right to get to look into their faces.

I finally reach the kitchen. And after a short, conversation less break first of pushing some Orans down my throat, with two Cynderquils tenderly smiling at me the whole time, we're back to the living room.

While Tolan and Cari push aside their cards, I sit down next to them and the three of us form a small circle as I continue telling them my story.


	12. Treek

Shortly after giving the Pecha to the Treecko he began regaining consciousness. And while I continued to sit next to him, my eyes facing the road and wondering about all that happened, he began talking to me.

Still with a very weak voice he thanked me. "Thank you..."

Not expecting his voice to return this fast, I immediately stopped pondering over my thoughts and began to pay my attention to him.

"I would have been done for, if you didn't went and got me that Pecha", he said while trying to move his arms, as the effects of the infection were starting to wear off. But his thankful expression and mood quickly changed when his sight fell on the stump he now had for a leg.

By now it was covered by a thick layer of his hardened, green blood. I tried not to look at it, as I continued to look the grass type into his eyes.

But the distraught must have been written all over my face too, as he looked away from his leg and continued to talk to me with a confident voice.

"Ha! You think this is going to hold me back?"

Confused by his statement, I was able to see him pushing himself up from the ground, now leaning against the tree we were sitting under.

"What do you mean? You just lost your leg and now you're talking like it doesn't matter to you."

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm a grass type", he said while bunny hopping closer to me, trying to inspects my body.

Before he could continue talking, I started blaring out the first question which came to my mind at the time.

"What's a grass type supposed to be?" I asked.

Obviously confused about my stupid question, he crocked his head and looked at me funny.

"What kind of question is that supposed to be?"

But how could I have known any better at the time, seeing that he was the first creature I was able to talk to that was also willing to respond to me.

"I..." I began to stutter. "I honestly don't know."

"You sure you didn't hit your head too hard on that tree?"

I started to grow tired by his responses and decided to be a little less nice about it.

"Could you maybe just be helpful and answer my question!"

"OK. OK. Like I just said: I'm a grass type - the same way you are a fire type."

'A fire type', I thought to myself. 'What is that supposed to mean?'

"So what do you mean by that? And what does that have to do with your foot?"

Giving me a look as if I was just trying to annoy him, he continued. "That means that I can regrow my limbs. See, I'm just like this tree right here." While saying that he tried to knock his knuckles on the bark of the tree he was leaning against, but failed as he lost his balance with only one foot on the ground and fell down again.

Out of reflex though, he must have tried to find ground with his missing leg, resulting in his fresh wound stopping his fall.

His relaxed face quickly changed its expression back to pained, as he looked away from me trying while trying to swallow his pain.

"Dude. Grass type or not, you've still got some healing to do."

Looking back at my concerned face, his facial muscles relaxed and his expression changed back to a hearty smile.

"Thanks. Can you help me up?"

"Sure... ahm... What should I call you?"

"I'm Treek. Treek the Treecko."

"I'll help you up, Treek."

As I helped him up and swung his arm around me, he continued to talk to me.

"Be careful to keep your ember under control, though. You're hurt yourself and I know that you fire types always heat up when dealing with injuries."

'There's that term again. What's a fire type? And what makes me one?'

Not daring to actually ask the question, because I knew that doing so would only lead to him questioning my sanity even further, I instead decided to ask something different.

"Where are we going?" I asked, sticking to my intent of not asking any more stupid questions.

"I was hoping you had someplace I could hang at until my leg grows back."

"What gave you that idea?"

"Well. I did save your life after all..." he responded, now in a saddened tone.

"No. What I'm trying to say, is that I don't think I have a home."

"Oh. You looked like a wealthy 'mon to me. I've only seen Quilava on the Tele Orb before, so I guess I just assumed you were rich."

I didn't care what a Tele Orb was, so I just continued. "I'm sorry, but in that case you must have assumed wrong."

In that moment my stomach decided to repeat its plea for food, as it growled at me and Treek.

"You should eat something", Treek said.

"I guess so, but what am I supposed to eat", I retorted.

"Just cook yourself some of that Poochyena", he said while pointing at the corpse of the dog that attacked us the night before.

"What? I can't eat that."

"You're a carnivore. If you don't eat meat, what have you been eating your whole life? Only Berries?"

"But it was a living being."

"You think that stopped whoever already took those bites out of its back?"

Looking at the corpse of the dog, I saw bite marks of different sizes and shapes which I didn't notice before. And realizing that I've yet again asked a stupid question, I decided to follow Treek's advice and dig in.

With me carrying him around my neck, I walked onto the road to inspect the carcass further. It had red, pinkish meat, with pure white bones sticking out of the shredded fur that once covered its torso. I don't remember if its eyes were still open or closed, as it laid there in front of me and Treek, who didn't seem to mind looking at this once living, breathing thing. But then again it was him who killed this dog the night before.

"Not so tough now", Treek laughed at the corpse as I helped him sit down.

Trying one last time to get myself out of following Treek's order, I said to him "You sure that I should eat this? It's your kill after all, so you should have at least some of it."

Treek slapped his wrist on his forehead before continuing. "Dude! I'm an herbivore. I can only eat berries and plants", he stated laughingly, while I realized that I had once again asked a stupid question.

Sending him an annoyed glance, I started digging my paws into the dog and decided to go for a new approach to the conversation.

"Why don't we just assume from a moment, that I lost all my memories and don't know who I am, where I am, what I am or what I'm doing here."

"Are you serious with this?" Treek asked me while crooking his head, to which I carefully responded with a yes.

"Let's assume that I am..."

"I guess it would explain why you didn't know how to defend yourself against those ferals", he continued while pointing at the dog I had already dug my paws into.

"' You have any idea how you lost your memories?"

Deciding not to mention the fact that I was most likely a prisoner on the run, or the memory I had of that pyramid thing for the time being, I answered with a serious voice. "No. I have no idea how it could have happened."

As I continued looking through the dog and pulling out things that looked eatable, Treek gave me a thoughtful look before he continued with a serious voice of his own.

"I can't tell you what you are doing here, but I can tell you all the other things."

While carefully feeling the stump he had for a leg, he then finally decided to give me some much needed answers.

"You're a Quilava, but your species isn't home to this place. Most of your kind lives far to the east where the four nations border each other. But after tensions have started rising from Korana claiming to have the support of the holder, they've started fleeing from their homes at the equator to look for new ones near the Eastern Mountain Range in Dararu. - Though the indigenous fire types there are given them a real hard time, not wanting to share. - I've seen a documentary about it. But I digress..."

"We're here, sitting on a forest path connecting a military camp with the main road. This forest is called Lost Woods and lies near the center of Sazari, the western nation. They've only set up the camp a couple of days ago, but don't ask me why the government is suddenly deciding to move some of its troops back inland."

"I think I know about the military camp." I interrupted him after he finished his sentence. "I've been there. As a matter of fact: that's where I came from."

"So you're military then", he asked.

"Not exactly... I'm not sure, but I think I was their prisoner."

I bit my tongue a moment too late as I realized what I just said, while Treek looked at me trying to decide what to do with the new information I had just handed to him.

"To be honest: if you hadn't already saved my life, I would probably just hand you over to the soldiers now. If you're their prisoner then there's probably a neat sum on your head. But then again, what do I care if you're a koranian spy or something like that."

With a sarcastic undertone he then continued. "I assume you can image what I think of our government after witnessing the *help* that patrol was offering to me."

Relieved that my slip up didn't end in me meeting Monster again, I realized that I've just been holding my arm inside of the Poochyena's body without actually starting to pull out some meat.

Treek seemed to have noticed so too as I quickly pulled my arm, now completely covered in red, out of the dog while holding onto something I couldn't identify at the time. And not wanting to upset the Treecko any further I simply continued by talking to him.

"Why are you not in pain? After all: you've just lost your leg." I tried to get the conversation going again.

"Well. Not to say that I'm not in pain right now, but my body is already preparing to regrow the leg. And though it'll take some time before I'll be walking on two of them again, there wouldn't be any point in keeping me in pain 'till them."

As Treek answered my question I started chewing on the meat. It tasted horrible. You know how I always tell you to cook raw flesh before eating it? Well... I had to learn that the hard way, as I spat the bloody chunk of meat back out again.

With a very sweet - but not the good kind of sweet -, bloody and metallic taste in my mouth, Treek looked at the raw flesh lying on the road and then back at me.

"You're actually supposed to cook it before trying to eat it."

"What do you mean cook?"

"OK. Skipping the whole questioning-your-sanity part for now: you're a fire type. So you can control fire. Just summon a flame or something and cook the meat."

"I don't know how to control fire", I said with some sadness in my voice, as I looked back at the bloody chunk of meat while my stomach decided to remind me of its condition a third time.

"Well. I can't teach you how to do that, seeing that I don't control fire either. But I think your stomach should be able to get some nourishment out of the meat, if you overcome your disgust and just try to swallow the thing as a whole."

Picking the chunk of meat back up, I held it up into the sunlight. It was now covered with some of my salvia, which, intermixed with the blood of the dog, started sliding down my arm and dripped down on the road. As I did my best at trying to get it down my throat a second time and suppressed my disgust that doing so gave me, I got interrupted by the nearing of voices.

"Come on Globbo, why do we have to do patrol shift now?"

Not only that I knew the voice that had spoken, but I also remembered where I had heard it the first time. It was the voice of one of my alleged rescuers from before in that cave.

Quickly swallowing the chunk of meat as a whole while almost coughing it back up, I had no time to shiver from disgust as I grabbed Treek who, with a frozen facial expression must have also known what the voice meant to us. I picked him up under his shoulders and started dragging us off the path and into the shrubbery lining it.

"You heard the boss yesterday. Or did you really expect any better after almost crushing our best chance of countering Korana's claim in possessing a holder."

Not daring to make a sound or even move a finger, we froze solid behind a bush as two shapes came into our view.

"Don't act like it's my fault! Rip threw the rope too hard. And now he even gets to explore with the boss."

The Golbat that was talking before stopped moving forward. It landed and turned around to face a Crogunk. "Crog you idiot! You were the one who just had to grab the rope before we finished securing it. Don't act like it wasn't you who caused that stone avalanche. And Rip isn't ~exploring~ with the boss. He's accompanying him on the search for the holder."

While still remaining silent, Treek breaks his motionlessness and turned his head to look me into my eyes. He didn't have to say a single word as his eyes told the whole story. Apparently I was this holder. And apparently that was the true reason why I was being hunted.

After Crog and Globbo went out of our view again, I was the first to risk breaking the silence between me and Treek, asking just a single question.

"What's a holder?"


	13. Lineage

Astonished and with shock written all over his face, Treek began stuttering incoherent sentences at me with obvious amazement in his eyes and voice.

"You're... Oh my Arceus! Holder... How can that be? ... Though those are only a legend!"

I tried to calm him down, as his words didn't make any sense anymore. "Calm down and just answer my question. What is a Holder supposed to be?"

As the Treecko tried to regain his breath from all the excitement, all he could communicate with was his breathing.

"*huff* *huff* How could *huff* you not know?"

I had enough of his charades and angrily bickered at him. "We've just been over this! I have no idea about what's going on here. As a matter of fact: you're the first to actually give me ~some~ answers."

"*huff* Right, right. You don't know. *Haaaa*..."

Suddenly he emitted a pained scream. Confused as to why he was screaming I let go of him as he pushed himself away from my body. A moment later I too noticed what had happened, when I saw tiny streaks of black covering his back.

"Ah! That freakin' hurts. I told you to control you're fire around me! Autsch!"

Looking above my head, I tried to follow where he was looking and saw a flame in the corner of my eyes.

My head was on fire and it felt amazing. Blanking out his pained yells of discomfort, I held my paw which was still completely covered in the red blood of the dog into the flame. It was a very nice feeling. You kids might think that you know what I'm talking about, but trust me: you can't imagine what waving your paws through your flame feels like once you evolve.

"Dude! I assume that what you're doing must feel good to you, but could you maybe just apologize for almost scorching away half of my skin."

Snapping back into reality, I noticed the black streaks of charred ash covering his back once again. And unlike what I just felt waving my paw through the flame on my head, it didn't look like something the Treecko must have enjoyed, as his eyes transmitted a mild anger alongside the pain that was written into his face.

Shame overcame me and my expression shifted from pleasure to regret.

"Sorry, I... I didn't know any better."

"*sigh* It's OK... Most of it was just the remnants of my bark..." He accepted my apology as he swept a paw across his back, discarding most of the ashes to the ground.

"Just... Try not to let it happen again."

"I... I can try to, but I don't know what caused this to happen in the first place. Though I see now what you meant when you were talking about me being a fire type before."

Shortly after, his expression changed back to the excitement he had shown before I burned his back.

"Wow. So you really are a Holder. Can you... Can you show it to me?"

"Show you what", I asked as Treek tried to hop around me, inspecting my body from all angles.

Forgetting again that he only had one leg while doing so, he fell on his stomach and quickly tried to sit back up again.

Looking at my face he must have been unable help himself but to let his jaw drop wide open, as he stared at my forehead in amazement. Not knowing what he was looking at, I begin feeling my forehead. It was just as I remembered it from when I had awoken earlier that morning. I could feel my fur, still stuck together in thick stands as I moved my paw across my skull. I couldn't sense or see the fire that burned Treek while I was holding him anymore. But other than that, I couldn't feel anything out of the ordinary either.

"What?" I asked. "What are you staring at?"

"There! Right in the middle of your forehead." Came the response as he lifted an arm and pointed at me.

Moving my paw back down to where Treek was pointing to, I still couldn't feel anything special. I could feel something that felt like a bruise, but still didn't know what Treek was talking about.

Looking confused back at him, he started talking again.

"You are a holder", he whispered. "And you carry the mark on the front of your head."

"What mark?" I asked while continuing my frantic search for what he was talking about.

"That scar. That scar you have right there, in the middle of your forehead."

'A scar?' I thought to myself. 'How does a scar make me so special? Everybody could have a scar.'

"What's so special about some scar? Everybody can have those!"

As Treek continued, he tried to move over to me again. This time coming close enough to touch me.

"It's perfectly triangular. There's no doubt about it. You're the one next in line for the Holder of wisdom. You're the one who is destined to return the world to its former glory."

"What?" I responded, demanding more answers to my questions.

I felt my anger rise again as I continued my questions. "How am I destined to do anything, if I don't even know a bit about this place?"

"You're the Holder of wisdom. You, as the only one, exist as part of the lineage of Holders. You, just like your ancestors, can access the knowledge of the ancients. Stored in the past and kept safe from the claws that would use it for their own selfish needs."

I wanted to interrupt him and ask the questions that were lying at the tip of my tongue: Who are these ancients? What exactly is it that only I can do? But all that happened was my mouth falling agape in confusion.

Sensing my confusion, Treek continued to elaborate. "For example: Orb technology was invented by one of your predecessor. All of us other 'mons still don't fully understand how they work. He only showed us how to make some of them during his lifetime. And while we were able to combine a few to create new ones, we never managed to reach any sort of real breakthrough on our own."

Finally finding the ability to speak again, I tried to pull Treek back into reality.

"How does that help me now? All I know right now, is that I'm being chased by some soldiers that apparently want me because I'm this holder everyone seems to be talking about. But that's it. And I have all these questions about things I still don't understand."

After a short silence, Treek started talking again. "You're right. You have to get away from here. Those soldiers only want you for their own selfish needs. They'll use you as a response to the claim made by Korana and to get the upper hand in the war. And even worse: one of their patrols could come back any minute now. You have to get out of here before they're able to catch you again. GO! Leave me behind. I'd just slow you down."

"What? No! I need you! Without you I'll probably just walk into another pack of hounds. I have no idea how to defend myself from anything."

"No. You'd have to carry me. And that wouldn't work in the long run..."

"Here." I said while grabbing some of the sticks lying around and handing them to Treek. "Use these as crooks, so you can walk."

Still mesmerized by me being a holder, he responded. "Wow. You truly are part of the lineage of wisdom."

Tilting my head and casting him an annoyed look I bickered "Seriously? I don't think you have to be part of some lineage of being smart to figure out that you can use sticks as crooks."

"No. That's not what I meant. I was referring to you not leaving me behind. It is said that the holders are generous to those who truly wish to be their friends."

Surprised at the statement I answered. "I believe that you truly are a friend, with only good intentions in mind for me." Changing my tone to a very serious one I continued. "But if what you're saying about me is true, then I will need more of your help than I will be able to offer you in return."

Treek didn't even have to think for a moment as he blared out his answer the moment I finished my sentence.

"Yes! Of course I know that. But by letting me do this you are giving more to me that you might think. I'm an orphan who set out into the world to become the strongest he could be."

As we stand up, with Treek using the sticks I handed to him as crooks, I try to show my grief to him for losing his parents.

"I'm... sorry. I didn't know you lost your parents."

"Don't worry. It's OK. They've been dead to me for a while now."

Slightly confused about the words Treek chose for that sentence, we started heading away from the trees and section of road covered in ours and the dog's blood, leaving it's carcass behind without honoring it with another glance.

Treek told me to stay behind in case we ran into another patrol. He said he would signal me if he heard someone coming.

While walking we passed a lot of trees that looked all the same to me. Nowadays I assume that Treek could tell them apart from each other using his grassy elemental core, but you'd have to ask him that yourselves.

After a while the gap between us grew smaller and smaller, until Treek started talking with me again.

"I assume you don't remember your name either."

"You assume correctly."

"In that case could I just call you Quill? - Of course only until you remember your real name."

I never liked the name Quill. Back then I didn't either, as I thought it wouldn't suit me. But understanding the necessity of having a name to be called by, I agreed to the offer Treek had given to me.

"Sure. Call me Quill. But do you really think I can remember my real name over time?"

"Of course. Assuming you had one assigned to yourself before you came to this world. After all: if any lineage of holders would be able to figure out their name, it would be yours. ... Hmmm... You know, for supposedly being such a wise 'mon, you sure picked a bad time to come here."

It all sounded very strange in my head as I began throwing my questions at Treek again.

"You make it sound like I intentionally chose to come here. What gives you the idea that I had anything to do with being here? Because believe me, I'm pretty sure that I didn't plan for being stuck in that cave-in."

"What cave-in?" Treek asked, as I realized that I had chosen not to tell him what I remembered when he asked me before.

"Erm... I may not have been completely honest with you, when you asked me what I remembered before. See to be honest, the first thing I remember is being in a damp and dark cave, with that Globbo and Crog guy trying to ~rescue~ me. The next memory I have after that is escaping from their camp, after they tried to patch me up from being in a cave-in apparently caused by those guys."

"That would explain a lot. But don't worry; I'm not mad at you for not telling me. As a matter of fact... *sigh*... I'm not really an orphan in a literal sense... I ran away from home."

Knowing that I had just hit a very sensitive spot in Treek's personality, I decided not to interrogate any further.

I was almost walking next to him at that point, as he suddenly changed the subject, telling me to stay back a bit more while to the best of his ability dashing a few meters ahead again, keeping a noteworthy distance between the two of us.


	14. Metal bars

As we finally neared the edge of the forest, I started to see the density of tree fall, while their bark's hue slowly changes from the dark black to a lighter, more pleasant brown.

That was when Treek suddenly turned around to face me again.

Lightheartedly he started talking to me. "I think I've got an idea for where you could hide from the governments. - Remember how I talked about all of your kind fleeing to the eastern mountain range in Dararu? If we could just manage to get there, you could simply hide among the masses."

"Sounds like a good idea. But what's the catch?"

"Well... For one thing, I'm missing a leg", he said while nodding at the stump he had for a leg. "And while that's going to fix itself over time, it's not going to be easy to cross the border with it still missing."

After a moment he began elaborating on the state of the world.

"You see: tensions have risen between the nations ever since Korana claimed the new land in the south. Not willing to share their discovery with the world, Zatola and Sazari decided to take it all for themselves, because they believe it to rightfully be theirs. There is an old legend in Zatola, which talks about a new land that would be discovered on the other side of the world. With treasures that shall belong to those who live furthest away from them. And geographically speaking, Zatola would qualify for the description of the legend. With the exact point described close enough to the border of Sazari, to allow them to justify an alliance. And tensions are just about to burst, now that Korana claims to have the support of a Holder."

"Hmm. Now that I think about it: they must be lying, because never in history did more than one holder live. There are even centuries of records where no known holder existed at all."

"But my point is that both Zatola and Sazari have closed up their borders to Dararu and Korana, making it nearly impossible to get to where we would need to go."

Having listened to all of that, I began to get a better image of the world.

"But you wouldn't have said anything if it was impossible."

"I'm not saying it would be impossible, Quill. - Just very hard. We'd have to find someone who can get us across the border. - Someone willing to commit treason for reaching that goal. We'd also need a lot of money to pay them for getting us across. And neither me, nor from what I understand you have access to that kind of cash."

I didn't know why I already knew what money was. But I didn't question it back then, as I began stating my response to the plan Treek had come up with.

"It's a good plan Treek. But like you said: we don't really have any way of getting ahold of a lot of money. So we would either have to find a method of earning the money, or we'd have to find our own way across the border."

"Another problem would be getting to the border. You said that you found it odd that the government withdrew some of soldiers from the border. So I assume the border would be quite a distance away."

Treek tried to respond but I didn't let him as I continued. "But the most pressing problem is me. You said that this scar..." I pushed away the sticky fur on my forehead and pointed to where my scar was supposed to be, as I continued. "... is marking me as a holder of whatever lineage. So I just assume that with it other 'mons can identify me just as easily as you did."

I finished my sentence and finally let Treek utter what he was trying to say. "You're right. We have to get you a hat or something. But that's easier said than done, considering that it would have to be a fireproof one, so you don't just it burn into a pile of ash." While point at me again, he continued. "Not to mention, that you'll never be able to hide in a crowd looking like a serial killer."

It was early afternoon now, and the sun was already beginning its descend while we were still at the edge of the forest. It was one of the nicer days of spring and with almost no clouds covering the sky, I was able to let the sun bathe me with its rays.

But while continuing to discuss our next action, we didn't realize that company was only a few moments away.

"There he is!" The voice of Monster shouted to his companions.

Startled, we spun around to look a very angry Nidoking into his eyes, as he stood about fifteen meters away from us, ready to take his next action.

"RUN!" Treek yelled at me, something he didn't have to say twice. Though not wanting to leave him behind I knew that it was only me they were after.

I dropped down to all fours and began leaping back into the forest as fast as I could. Not daring to look back I kept running, still hearing the voices behind me.

"Leave the Treecko! We don't have time to deal with traitors right now. Just get me the Quilava", the voice of Monster shouted from behind me.

I started to hear the sound of breaking sticks and rolling stones, as the ground began to shake faster and faster. And I just knew that it was Monster who was only a few body lengths behind me, with the gap between us closing fast.

I was desperate and out of options. I knew I needed to keep running. I knew that I couldn't let myself get captured again. I knew at that point what their intentions were. And I wasn't planning on taking any part in their foul scheme to wage an unnecessary war against their neighbors.

I ducked under some roots, hoping desperately that they would hinder my pursuers even the tiniest bit while giving chase to me.

But to no avail. As I cut around the corner of a particularly big tree, I was cut off by Rip the Rhyperior.

Not being able to stop my movement or change my direction, I slid right into his arms as he grabbed me by the neck and picked me up, almost choking me while doing so.

A moment later the Nidoking who was pursuing me before skidded around the corner and came to a hold without crashing into Rip.

"Bwahaha! You thought you could get away from me, didn't you?"

Rip help me even tighter as I struggled to free myself while showing my teeth to Monster and trying to create some sort of angry growl that must have not come out as something too impressive.

"Oh! You're a feisty one. Why don't we hit you with another hypnosis?" Asked Monster while looking at the Rhyperior.

Expecting to gently be put to sleep like the last time someone uttered those words, I was met the exact opposite as Rip held me up to Monster who continued by throwing his fist into my face, sending me unconscious.

I woke up to the voice of Monster, as he was apparently talking to me.

"They say you're the Holder of wisdom...", he began while I kept my face lowered as much as I could, not gratifying him with the knowledge that I had any intention of actually cooperating or was paying attention any to his words. "... But I think you'll find it pretty hard to find a way out of this one." Slightly opening my eyes, I was met with something I didn't expect to see. I was on the back of a carriage as it rattled across the landscape towards a destination unknown to me. The sky had become cloudy and I didn't know how much time had passed since the chase.

Monster, who was also in the back of the carriage, was sitting in front of me. I don't know how a wagon most likely only designed to carry crops during the harvest was able to sustain such a massive beast without falling apart.

"You're doing a great service to your country, son. With your help, we'll show those damn, dirty Koranians who's got the real holder and who's really destined to own the new world those thieves claimed for themselves. Like they'd have any right... But don't worry, you'll be able to tell 'em that yourself."

I wasn't able to move my arms or legs and heard the rattling of chains whenever I tried to do so, or whenever the carriage drove through a waterhole on the road. I was chained up, inside of a cubic metal cage with vertically iron bars between me and the Nidoking, who was currently enjoying an apple. My arms and legs were spread out and bound to the edges of the cage, hindering me from moving a single muscle.

I knew he was trying to brainwash me. Treek did a pretty good job explaining the state of the world and what they needed me for. So I decided to play along for the time being, starting with the role of the revolting and uncooperative 'mon I really was at that time.

"What did you do to Treek?" I uttered while keeping my teeth pressed again one another.

"What? You mean that Treecko friend of yours? - The traitor to his country? - He's dead."

My jaw dropped, alongside my act of trying to appear resistant and uninterested. I opened my eyes fully, to see the Nidoking leaning back relaxed and munching on an apple he was holding.

"I didn't know his name was Treek, but let me tell you: that's a pretty stupid name."

I couldn't believe my ears. The only 'mon who ever listened to me, who actually cared for me, was dead. He was my friend. With tears in my eyes I started to get a new feeling, as my ember flared. I didn't recognize it at the time, since it was only the second instance it ever happened to me and one of the only times it happened with this much energy.

"How could you!?" I screamed at the Nidoking, rattling my chains while a hot flame was leaving the top of my head, something I didn't even notice at that moment. But instead of receiving an appropriate response to my behavior, the Nidoking remained calm and continued the meaningless conversation while looking over to a pile of apples on his right.

"Want an apple?" He asked as he threw an apple between the bars of my cage, making it land directly in front of my spread out legs while knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to pick it up, seeing how my arms and legs were chained.

"You know..." the Nidoking said, as he moved up to the bars of my cell "... I could help you with that apple, if you are willing to let me."

Fueling my anger even further, I pulled on the chains holding me back to get as close to the creature as I possibly could. After coming as close to his face as I was able to, I let out a roar sounding even more infuriated than you could imagine.

"You know... I think you need to cool down", Monster said before backing off and throwing his apple core off the carriage and continuing by picking up a bucket that was standing in the corner opposite from the apples.

Without any warning, he threw the bucket's contents, some cold water, into my direction.

It was wet and cold and hurt like hell. Oh so very very cold, as I felt the water first hit my face and continue to splash all over my body. Some might image hell as a place of fire. - That would be heaven for a fire type. Our hell is the ocean, as even a single drop of water in the right location can do us terrible amounts of pain; something I had to learn through experience at that moment.

With no possibility of blocking the water from hitting me, I closed my eyes and bit my tongue while I could feel my ember dying down to its bare minimum within moments.

The Nidoking leaned back into its original position and grabbed another apple from the pile to his right, as the carriage continued on its way, keeping us up to date on its progress by driving through a particularly big waterhole.


	15. Invasion

I stop telling the story to my kids, as I can hear voices outside. Voices, that don't belong there. A voice I don't recognize can barely be heard:

"So this is the place you say? 'Cus I don't see anything."

After a short moment of me being frozen to the ground, it continues. "Ah! Behind that bush. I see."

I know only seconds are remaining, as I quickly pick up Cari and gesture Tolan to follow as fast as he can. - Something I don't have to say twice as he luckily is quick to respond and follows me while I run down the hallway leading to their bedroom.

"Stand there", I whisper to them while pointing at a wooden pallet that covers a small sinkhole in the middle of the path.

I continue by franticly searching the underside of the pallet for our tool of escape, as I can already hear someone or something breaking down the hatch to our den.

Even more franticly I continue my search and finally manage to find what I was looking for: a small glassy looking shard, leaving the light that passes through with a faint blue tint. While picking it up I almost drop it into the sinkhole, never to be seen again. But instead I manage to do just what I was planning on doing, as I snap the shard in half, throw it aside and grab onto my kids.

A very weird feeling overcomes my body, as a glowing quickly spreads over me and onto my bodies of my kids while engulfing us in its shine.

I can feel us being dematerializing, while we seemingly start sinking through the ground and into the sinkhole.

No one can, or even tries to say a word as we continue to sink. I can see rocks and grains of sand pass by while we sink deeper and deeper into the bowls of the earth. Finally, after a few more meters, we come to a full stop and drop into a hidden room below the sink hole.

We rematerialize and Tolan immediately starts yelling his questions.

"What just happened?"

"Pscht", I whisper to him as the 'mons above us might still be able to hear us if we are talking too loudly down here.

"I'll explain in a moment", I say as I let go of my kids and summon a small candle light in the palm of my paw.

Now whispering, Tolan asks again "What just happened? Where are we?"

With the weak light from my paw thrown onto the walls, Tolan and Cari start looking around.

The walls appear to be made out of sandstone and are lined with strange footprint ruins, describing various laws of nature and different chemical reactions. But that is something my kids understand nothing about, thereby just adding to their confusion.

"We're still at home", I begin. "This is just a room you've never been in."

Probably forgetting that there are currently invaders looking through our home and with astonishment in his voice, Tolan begins asking again. "Has... Has this always been here?"

"Yes... And no", I begin, not having prepared to explain this to them all of the sudden. "You see, this is my laboratory. This is where I..."

"Cool", I get interrupted my Tolan who seems to have already forgotten that we shouldn't be talking too loud and risk being heard upstairs.

"Psht Tolan. And please don't touch anything", I whisper to him as I walk over, pick him up and carry him back to his sister, who is still in awe from looking at her surroundings and the strange inscriptions on the walls. Except for the writing on the wall and some wooden beams holding up the ceiling the room is mostly empty, but nonetheless must be very interesting to both of them.

"Please... Try to talk quietly. I don't know how thick the ceiling actually is. I never got the chance to test if one could talk normally in here without being heard from above."

Nodding in understanding, Cari restates Tolan's question of how we came here.

"But how did we get here? That didn't feel like an Escape Orb."

"You're right Cari, it wasn't. I couldn't risk using an orb which can be traced when used, like escape orbs can be." As I continue explaining what just happened, I walk over to one of the walls and push in a particular sandstone whose edges stand out from the others. A small clicking sound can be heard, signaling that the main entrance inside of my bedroom has been locked.

"The Orb... Or rather Sharded Orb I used doesn't really exist as of right now. It's something I invented myself for situations exactly like this." I continue to explain in a whisper tone.

"I created it a couple of years ago, to be used as an escape route through the sinkhole. I call it a Liquefy Orb. And it works similar to how a Vaporeon can turn itself into water, by allowing the user to temporarily be turned into liquid and thereby give them the ability to dribble through soft ground."

"Are you saying that we were turned into water just now?" Cari asks, sticking to the whisper tone I asked of them to use.

Before I am able to respond, I can hear some voices from up above us shouting at each other. And looking up I can understand what they are saying. Tolan and Cari look up as well, while they listen in on whoever is up there together with me.

"They're not here!" One voice is saying.

"Continue looking for them. Search everywhere!" Another is responding.

I look back down, to continue my explanation.

"To answer your question Cari: Yes... And no. We weren't actually water. That wouldn't make any sense because we're not made out of water right now. No: we were ourselves just the same as we are right now. Only that the matter we are made out of changed its state, but the exact process is really complicated and I'm not expecting you to understand. After all: Nobody up there knows how an escape orb works. I could try to explain, but that's not the point."

After a short pause I continue my explanation while Tolan and Cari direct their full attention towards me. "You see. I needed an emergency entrance to this place; one that nobody could follow me through. But I couldn't just use teleportation because those can be traced. So when I was building our den together with your mother and you were only cubs with an age of only a few weeks, we discovered that sinkhole while digging out your room."

Shaking away the memories of my wife, I continue the history lesson. "And while a sinkhole is obviously something you wouldn't want to have in front of you children's bedroom, it still made me think if I couldn't use it for something. And when I build this laboratory a couple of weeks later, I got the idea of using it as a secret entrance."

"And I already knew that with enough research I could get a working Liquefy Orb. But there's one downside to using them that I couldn't quite get rid of."

I can hear the voices above again, as they interrupt me.

Stretching my neck, Tolan and Cari follow after and we listen in again. "Hey! There's some weird goo over here!"

"Then check it out! This guy's like a mad scientist. I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with his escape!"

Cowering together, I calm down my kids. They are afraid since it appears that our whereabouts have already been figured out. And that we're not at all safe down here.

"Don't worry." I say to them. "It's all part of the plan. When we discovered it, the sinkhole was and still is filled with quicksand, which is the reason why I chose it as an emergency entrance: because if you pour in a liquid, it'll be down here within seconds. But if you throw in a rock or anything solid for that matter, it can take days until it finally drops through the roof and into this room."

The voices above interrupt me again, this time yelling load enough to be understood without us having to look upward.

"There's like an escape tunnel under this pallet. But it looks like it's caved in!"

"Don't tell me the story of your life! Check it out!"

Tolan interrupts the 'mon above, as he seems to grasp an understanding of what my full plan looks like. "So when someone tries to follow you through there, they'd also take days before they actually get down here. - Just like that rock."

"Correct", I respond to Tolan as I can hear screams shouting from above.

"Nope! This is quicksand! Get me out here!" The voice says, again speaking loud enough to be understood without any problems.

"How? You're too heavy!" The second voice responds, obvious fright becoming apparent while it is talking.

"Then get me a rope! I'm sinking!"

"Where am I supposed to get a rope from?"

With anger becoming clearer in the pronunciation, the first voice rages back at the second one. "I don't know! Just! Help! Me! Out! Of! Here!"

"Dude! I don't know how."

"Argh! I can't find any grip! Just go get help." The anger that could previously be heard is starting to turn into fright, as the creature begins to fear for its life.

"Yes! I'll go find help. But try not to struggle; I've heard that if you struggle you just sink faster", the first voice states, trying to do its best to help its friend.

"Just go get the freaking help, NOW!" The first voice yells back, ignoring the obvious concern of the second creature.

Footsteps can be heard hurrying across the floor of our den, leaving the 'mon in the sand trap alone.

I can hear him mumbling his case to Arceus, hoping to still be saved from his indisputable death before finally being silenced completely as the sand must now be encumbering him completely, leaving him with the few seconds of air that must still be lingering in his lungs.

The silence of the dead befalls us as well, as Tolan and Cari realize the deadly consequences of my trap.

After a moment of complete silence, Cari begins to stutter. "You... He... You knew this was going to happen..."

"Yes..." I try to rectify my actions. "But this is survival here. There was always a chance that someone would have rescued him before it was too late."

The second voice can be heard again upstairs, alongside more footsteps hurrying across the ground.

"I'm back! I brought a he..." The voice says before cutting off mid-sentence and stopping to run, as it must have realized that his companion was no longer there.

"That crazy sun of a... Cyder! He must have known this would happen. It was all a trap from the get-go."

I hold my kids tightly while we continue to listen to the voice above talking. "Damn! Cyder's probably long gone by now. But at least he wasn't able to grab any of his supplies." The voice grows very angry as it continues and starts yelling. "And he won't be able to come back for ANY OF IT!"

~ CRUSH ~

We can only sit and wait, while we are forced to listen to the sound of things breaking above us.

~ CRUNSH ~

All of our belongings being destroyed...

~ CA-CLIRR ~

But still leaving us behind, to carry onwards with our lives.

~ Wobble-Wobble-KRSH ~

I wonder if anything at all will be left intact by the time we'll finally be able to come out of hiding again.

~ Dong-Dong-DSH ~

'How did this even happen? Where could the leak have been, if there was one? Maybe Treek was followed or maybe he...' I wonder to myself through the constant noise of our belongings breaking above us. And while tightly hugging my kids, clamping onto my body in return, a tear starts rolling down my cheek and drops on a shaking Cari.

 _## - End of Season 2 - ##_

 _Author Note:_  
 _That's the end of season #2. But as I'm writing this, I've already written ~90% of season #3. And let me tell you: Is crushes season #1 and #2 into the ground, with over 50000 words already to it._  
 _In the next weeks I'll be finishing it and revising everything (*sigh* revising sucks!) so expect it to start coming out after that._  
 _Also in case you're wondering: chapters get longer, so season #3 doesn't have like 40 chapters or something like that... XD_


	16. Leak

_Authors Note:_  
 _Welcome back to the third season of PMD - Holders._  
 _This season consists of chapters #16 - #33 and will be uploaded one chapter per day as usual._  
 _Starting with chapter #18 they will get much longer (some with more than 3000 words per chapter), making this season twice as long as both of the previous seasons combined (with 50000+ words - Woot!)_  
 _Btw: After writing this season I learned that "damn" is a ~kind-of~ swear word. I thought it wasn't and wanted to keep this whole book swear-free, but I guess that's what you get for being a non-native speaker... ¯\\_(ツ_ _)_/¯ (But it shouldn't matter since stuff is already T for violence and I'm going to stick to only saying "damn" and not stuff like #% &! or § $*)_  
 _Incase you're interested, I'm german and always thought of "damn" as correlating with "Mist", which isn't a swear word and translates back to ~dung~._  
 _Fanfiction: www¸fanfiction¸net/u/7545584_  
 _Deviantart: www¸grieferatwork¸deviantart¸com_

We're still covering in my hidden laboratory under our den, and we can still hear the crashing and breaking of our belongings above us.

It makes me very sad and I don't know why, as I can see more of my tears drop to the ground. I watch as they form a steam on the sandstone floor, filling the gaps between the stones. Maybe I'm sad because the live I build for me and my kids is being destroyed, while I can't do anything to stop it. Maybe it's not sadness at all and I'm just happy that we are still safe from the grasps of the 'mons above us. Or maybe I am worried that it was Treek who led them here. That maybe it was him who betrayed me.

As I start to wander about my own feelings, I notice that there is way too much liquid to be explained with only my tears as a source.

Through the crushing and stomping from above, I reignite my flame and inspect the liquid further. It most certainly doesn't feel like tears. The water is cold but still tastes salty, as I carefully dip the tip of my paw in the liquid.

'Oh no!' I think to myself, while following the stream of water leading to us, as I am able to trace its source to a collection of small cracks in the wall furthest away from us.

The ground shakes notably, as a very heavy 'mon must now be stomping our furniture into the ground. As the ground shakes, I can see more cracks appearing in the wall, while more sea water starts pouring in.

This room is built about five meters below our den. Thereby it is located below sea level, a problem I already had to deal with a couple of years ago when I build the lab. Unbeknownst to anyone but me, there is an underwater cave below the beach stretching out inland and stopping only a few meters away from this room. This I had to find out when I originally build the room and the ocean flooded it while I was trying to dig it out. As a response, I had to put up a barrier to keep the water out. Something that's easier said than done, seeing how I couldn't really swim around or ask Stormcloud to put it up for me. But after some smart uses of various orbs, I managed to close off the ocean and pump the water out again.

There is a small gate system behind the wall, which was supposed to keep the water out. But it must have corroded over time, slowly allowing the water to flow in from outside. And with the quakes from above being the tipping point, the sandstone wall must be giving in under the pressure of the ocean pushing agaist it from the outside.

My kids must have noticed the intrusion too, as Tolan points to the cracks and tries to get my attention to recognize the problem. But I'm way ahead of him.

The water is dripping down the walls, smearing over my inscriptions and slowly spreading the black ink I used over the floor, as I quickly start forming a plan to counteract the water.

Under normal circumstances it would be fairly easy to deal with this, as I could simply engage the pump I had originally used to clear the system of gates behind the wall of water. And even though I originally build the gates to have an exit leading out into the ocean, I quickly abandoned the idea of undersea exploration after an accident that resulted in me almost being killed by the freezing ocean waters, thus leading me to never touch the subject of water ever again. Another problem would be the noise caused by the pump which would most definitely be heard upstairs, meaning that even if it's still in working order, which I doubt, I couldn't just turn it on without risking it being heard.

"Come", I whisper to Tolan and Cari as they carefully try to avoid touching the water, while cautiously keeping their distance from the ever closer creeping edge of the puddle that will surely not take much longer before it encompasses the entire floor.

I push a stone next to the one I had pressed earlier, to unlock the main entrance again. And as the stone moves inwards while the other one is being pushed outwards, another barely audible clicking sound can be heard.

The water is no longer just slowly dripping in. Bigger cracks start to form and the wall is now spitting the water into a room, resulting in the constant sound of running water.

'I hope no one above will notice...' I think to myself while turning around to head for higher grounds. The main entrance to the lab I had just unlocked again can be reached from a narrow staircase in the corner to the right of the leaking wall. After a few stairs and a short portion of upwards angled tunnel it meets up with a small ladder leading into my room.

"Daddy?" I can hear Cari ask me as I turn around to see her dragging her broken arm away from the water.

Rushing back to get her, I have to walk through the water but try to ignore the stinging it causes in my feet. At this point it's not much worse than being out in the rain. And I've had to endure much worse encounters with water before, but it still hurts and I try to be as quick about it as I can.

I pick her up and turn around to see Tolan already walking up the staircase, as I whisper to him to wait. "Wait up, Tolan."

Surprised, but willing to follow my orders at a time where doing so is of the essence, he waits while I walk back through the water which is already reaching up to my ankles.

Small droplets of the ocean blood are being thrown up in the air and land on me and Cari, as she presses her teeth together and I can feel my body screaming at me to get to dry grounds.

It is very dark now, as the only light casting its shine on the water is the small, inconsistent flame held by Tolan. I finally catch up with him, while he continues to slowly walk up the stairs, steadily backing away from the water.

I pass by him and find myself in a small tunnel taking a sharp right turn while also leading upwards.

I try to shuffle Cari around in my arms in order to get a paw free and relieve Tolan of light duty. But I fail and stop trying when Cari starts whimpering and I return to carrying her the way I carried her before.

"This tunnel leads to the main entrance." I start explaining while carefully checking the path in the feeble candle light passing between my legs. "I unlocked it, so we won't be trapped down here. But from now on we can't really talk loudly without risking to be heard."

I look back at Tolan as he gives me a nod, extinguishing his flame for a few moments while being distracted. When it comes back on, I can see the water already having filled up half of the lab and can see the flame being reflected from the surface of the water back into my eyes. All the inscriptions have been washed away, but the leak is already underwater, thereby silencing the sound of rushing water and meaning that I don't have to worry about our invaders hearing the flood from above any more. With the constant sound of breaking only fading slowly, they must have been unable to hear the dampened sounds of water from down here.

"With the entrance unlocked, there is a chance that they might try to get in here before they'll finally give up and leave."

I turn back towards the tunnel and proceed to walk up the steep corridor, as the salty acid continues to creep ever so closer towards us.

A few moments later I reach the promised ladder with Tolan directly behind me and Cari being carried in my arms.

I lean against it and set her down to the right of me, before relieving Tolan from light duty as he aims to sit down on my other side. I wait for him to catch up and sit down before I continue talking to him and Cari in the faintest voice I can achieve, explaining the next part of the plan.

"We should be above the ocean level here. I'm not quite sure of the tide right now, but in any case we should remain dry here."

After a short moment of silence, only interrupt by a few stray sounds above us that seem to have been reduced to something only comparable with the sound of footsteps, Tolan interrupts the silence talking in the same whispering voice I've previously used.

"Couldn't you have gotten us out of there with some fancy gismo of yours?" Tolan asks.

"I don't know, what you mean. But if you're talking about me being the holder of wisdom, I'll remind you that this hasn't been my lab for a long time."

I look up, as I get interrupted by an unexpectedly loud rumbling above my head, before I lean down again and continue my explanation.

"After Zatola rejoined the war, I wasn't able to get ahold of any new resources. And without mom, I didn't even have time for any new research, as I had to raise you then. But even before this only was a research lab."

"What is it, you were researching then?" Cari lets herself be heard.

Trying to cut the conversation short, I choose not to go into detail and simply answer "Various things. - Too complicated for me to explain right now."

The sounds above finally break down, as I we can hear voices starting to talk to each other. They don't speak loud enough to make out full sentences, but the few words I am able to catch lead to me concluding that they are planning a large scale search for me. They plan to comb all of Corasona in order to find where I'm holding out.

I can hear the voices fading, but still don't trust the situation above and don't want to risk already coming out of hiding.

I lean against the ladder again, as my sight falls on the completely flooded tunnel before us, the light of the flame in my paw reflecting off of tiny waves, as the water starts to calm down again. I was right and the water has stopped before reaching the all the way towards the ladder. And I finally began to regain my feeling of safety.

I begin controlling my breathing again and start thinking. 'It's a wonder that nobody above heard the sound of rushing water.'

After a moment passes, I continue my thought. 'But I guess you have to be lucky sometimes.'

No more sounds can be heard from above and with the calm surface of the water and the steady flame I am holding, I can't hear a single sound or see a single change in my surroundings, but the minimal changes in lighting caused by the tiny anomalies on the fire of my flame.

Some time passes before the calmness is finally interrupted by Tolan and Cari creeping closer towards to me. Not to get further away from the water, which has remained stationary for a while now, but because they are afraid. For the first time since we escaped to the lab, I find the time to look into their eyes, but the eyes I am looking into don't reflect the strength and determination I am used to receiving from those surrounding me. No, they are filled with fright and helplessness, as I inch closer to them as well, allowing them to clamp onto me while I am hold them in return.

Unlike before I don't feel another tear in my eyes, because I know that I did not lose the most important thing there is to safe: my children.


	17. Reunion

I don't know if I had fallen asleep or how much time had passed. But when I open my eyes again, it is dark. Obviously I put out the light I had been holding in my paw previously, and as I turn it back on I can see my kids lying calm and peacefully next to me, tightly snuggled up against my torso.

Shortly after lighting up the tunnel we are in, Tolan and Cari start to move again as well. I can see the water that had previously flooded by lab thereby destroying what little research I was able to accomplish during the last years.

'It was probably for the best that my lab got destroyed.' I think to myself. None of the research had brought me any closer to my goals. And with its destruction I won't be running the risk of leaving any of it behind and letting it fall into enemy hands. After all: It's the knowledge I can access and piece together that they are after and makes me valuable.

I let the light go out again by squeezing my paw, as I can hear muffled footsteps from above and a voice whispering alongside.

"Can we finally get out of here?" Tolan asks while trying to create a flame but only getting sparks when he snaps his fingers. The air has gotten too humid from all the sea water in the enclosed area, to allow him create a proper flame, thereby leaving us in total darkness as I'm not casting mine at the moment.

"Psht." I whisper, noticing my mistake and producing a new flame in my paw while stretching my neck to better hear what's upstairs.

"I think I hear something."

The voice above us sounds strange from where we are hiding, but it appears to be Treek's, as I can start to make out what it is whispering.

"Cyder? Are you still here?"

Relieved to hear Treek's voice again, I finally decide to start moving again.

Pushing Tolan away and picking Cari back up, I stand up, turn around and look up to the hidden entrance to my former lab.

"Treek?" I carefully whisper back up.

"Cyder." The voice returns cheerfully. "Thank goodness you're fine. Where are you?"

Treek doesn't know about the lab. As a matter of fact: not even my kids knew about it before we came down here and use it as a hideout.

Instead of further explaining where we are and also because I'm starting to feel the thin air affecting my ember, I decide to simply get out into the open again and reach up and open the entrance.

The entrance is hidden inside of the tunnel leading from my room out into the open. Disguised as an underground window letting in the sunlight, nobody would question it being there or think that it is more than what meets the eye at first glance.

Halfway down the window-tunnel there is a rock covering the entrance and being held up on top of the ladder. The locking mechanism works by clamping down on the rock, making it impossible to be moved when active and giving the appearance of it being part of the terrain. When in fact the rock is fairly light weight and can easily be pushed out of the way while the door is unlocked.

I sit Cari back down and proceed to push the rock out of the way.

It must already be dark outside again, as there is no light falling through the tunnel. - That, or the tunnel collapsed from the ruckus the invaders caused. Peeking my head through the hole left by the rock, I am relieved that the tunnel is in fact still intact.

"There you are." Treek says while standing in the middle of the chaos made out of the furniture of my used-to-be room.

Relieved that Treek appears to OK as well, I respond to him.

"Yeah. We were able to hide from them."

I feel a tugging on my leg. And as I look down I can see Tolan and Cari gesturing me to get them out as well.

I waste no time picking them up one by one and proceed to place them inside the window tunnel before leaving the tunnel myself, while covering it with the rock that was blocking the entrance before.

While I head after my kids towards an obviously happy Treek, I manage to get a glance in the other direction of the tunnel.

It is not collapsed and the reason it is dark is because it is night again. The moon isn't visible and the only light is coming from some stars sparkling through the clouds covering the sky.

I turn back towards my room, as I can see Treek helping my children get down to the ground, before also lending me a paw which I decline as I simply jump from the tunnel and onto the floor of my room. That wasn't the best of ideas though as I barely miss a pile of glass shards, still managing to land on solid ground.

"Woh! Careful Cyder. You don't want to get yourself hurt, now do you?"

'Hmm' I think to myself as I find the way Treek is talking strange, but shake the thought as I ask him what he knows about the intrusion.

"You know how they found us here?"

"Excuse me on that one, but someone must have been able to trace my steps back here."

"So they are already looking for me." I respond. "How many of them did you see?"

"Well... A couple at least; but not too many."

"Hmm. But that's going to change when they'll report that they found my base."

"I wouldn't count on it. There are only a couple around right now. Uh... And you scared them with your trap."

Starting to get suspicious of Treek, a feeling that Cari and Tolan seem to share with we, I ask him how he knows about my trap while my kids move away from Treek and start hiding behind me.

"Um... I... I heard them talk about it. Yeah. When I came back here looking for you, I saw them leave and talk about how you killed one of them."

"Ah. That explains everything." I say sarcastically while flaring my ember, concealing the fact from Treek and keeping the flames from leaking out of my back. "But I'd really like to know how you managed to escape after they traced you. I mean, they surely must have captured you after figuring out who you are."

"Ahmm..." I can hear Treek say, as he is out of answers.

"Who are you?" I shout at the Treecko desperately looking for an answer to my question. I can feel some of the ember I'm trying to hold back leak out of my mouth while I ask the question again, this time narrowing my eyes and looking the Treecko straight into his.

"I... I must have shaken them off." He responds while trying to send me an honest smile, in which he fails miserably while frantically searching the room with his eyes, probably looking for a way out.

With my kids safely behind my back, I slowly walk towards the grass type who mysteriously appears to be shrinking with every step I take towards him.

Frozen in the middle of the carnage, I grab him by his shoulders while he is still glancing around the room trying to look for an escape.

I know my body must be extremely hot, as I press down on his shoulders. But instead of immediately catching of fire, they start to change color to reveal red and black hairs which only seem to be as much affected a bit by the heat. And not at all like the skin of the real Treek would be reacting.

I pick the Treecko up, something I would never be able to with Treek. - Not only because of his body size, but also because of his weakness to fire.

I hold him up to my face and repeat the question, this time only whispering into the face of the Treecko, while not caring for the small embers leaving my mouth and falling on his face. "Who are you?"

Struggling and trying to escape my grasp, I watch as the Treecko's body changes its appearance into that of a small fox with maroon red and black fur and big pointy ears. - A Zorua.

Alongside its appearance, its facial expression changes as well and I no longer look into the face to a hyperventilating Treecko and instead am confronted with a big, smug grin.

I throw the fox away and am barely able to dodge its attack, as it tries to sink its teeth into my arm, but misses and gracefully lands behind me.

Since I have been preparing for the possibility of a fight, I spin around and release the fire I've already been building up since the first moment I began to be suspicious.

Unlike me escaping its claws, the fox isn't able to escape from the salvo of flames as they spread throughout half of the room, leaving a few of the broken items lying around the room in flames and taking away the foxes ability to fight.

I planned on it surviving the attack and quickly proceed to pick its unconscious body back up.

I turn to see my kids are still sitting, where this supposed Treek helped them down to. They appear happy over my victory, while I'm none the wiser over what to do next.

Holding the female fox in my arms, I come up with a plan for what to do next. I turn to my kids and begin speaking, instantly muting them and swiping the joy from their faces.

"She must know where Treek is. - The real Treek. And we'll have to get it out of her."

After a short pause of me looking at the tiny piles of ash surrounding me, I continue. "She's a dark type and we'll have to be careful around her. - Especially at night. But she's our prisoner now and I won't go anywhere before I know where they're holding Treek."

After a short pause during which I stare the fox into her unconscious eyes I continue. "We should put her into the tunnel we were hiding in and remove the ladder leading up to the stone. Then we'll wait until she decides to start talking."

Not actually waiting for a confirmation of my plan from my kids, I end the sentence by beginning to walk over to the window in the wall to put my plan into action.


	18. A new home

_Authors Note:_  
 _Sorry. I didn't want to do this, but I have to put another author's note here._  
 _I made a mistake when numbering the chapters and season #3 is actually consists of #16 - #34 (+1 more chapter.)_  
 _I accidentally didn't count this chapter, but I don't think anyone will mind this season being one chapter longer. But this also means that any references to chapters greater than or equal to 18 actually refer to the chapter after (so tomorrow's is the first longer one)._  
 _Again: Sorry. After this happened, I checked everything and this shouldn't happen again..._

It is night and our prisoner is rotting in her cell. She hasn't regained consciousness yet. But neither does she have any wounds that would require medical attention. I can feel the cold air from outside rushing through my den, as me and my kids search through the piles of junk that were once our useful items.

Not wanting to attract the attention of anyone around, we all remain quiet during the search.

Right now we're in the kitchen and are looking through our food storage. All of the berries we had harvested this year have been squashed. And their juices were already leaking out of the cabins when we came into the room.

From time to time I think I can hear something outside and feel the anxiety enter my body. - Only to feel it leave shortly after, when I can hear the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves.

After a while I start to feel comfortable enough to begin talking to my kids again, giving them my thoughts on what we'll be doing next.

"I feel like I've been wrong a lot lately." I begin. "But I don't think we should be expecting anyone else to show up here for a while. They send that Zorua girl to check if we were still here. If they really thought we were, they'd send a real search team to go through this place again."

"By her not coming back, they'll either assume she died in the sand trap. - Or that she just ditched them entirely. Or that she actually succeeded in finding me and is now working as an undercover spy at my side. But..."

I stop mid-sentence, straighten by back from being bent over the berry storage and turn around. Tolan and Cari have done the same thing. And while Cari isn't as much of a help as Tolan, they both turn to me and listen for what I want to say next.

"We should still find someplace where we can hide, in case they do decide to come back."

"With the flooded lab out of the question and no other secret room that I know of we won't be able to find anything in here."

A short moment passes, before Tolan decides to state an idea.

"We could try to hide in the backyard. There are a lot of good hiding spots there."

Cari rolls her eyes and sighs. "Tolan. This isn't about playing hide and seek. This is about life or death."

While Tolan rolls his own eyes, he starts talking back at his sister. "I know that! But remember that summer when we played hide and seek and you couldn't find me?"

"Yeah?" She responds. "You never told me, where you were hidden."

"Exactly." Tolan says determined. "I was hiding in the abandoned den of a ferals."

"What! We agreed to only hide above surface."

"No we didn't."

"Did so!"

I interrupt them, as Tolan's idea doesn't sound too bad to me.

"Actually... Tolan's idea doesn't sound like too bad of a hiding spot. If they do in fact come back, they'll be looking inside our den for that Zorua. They won't even be looking for us anymore and if we aren't hiding anywhere inside here, we'll be the safest we can be."

Tolan gives a satisfied grin to his sister, who only sticks out her tongue at him. Her arm is looking much better already and it doesn't seem to be giving her any pain anymore.

Ripping me from my though, Cari asks me what we should do about the fox.

"But if they'll be coming to look for her, she'll be able to call out to them and then they'll find her. And you won't be able to find out where uncle Treek is being held."

"I'm actually counting on that..." I answer, as Cari tilts her head and gives me a confused look.

"If they'll come looking for her, I won't even have to interrogate her and I'll simply be able to follow them to where their camp is. - Which is probably where they're keeping the real Treek locked up."

"How can you be so sure that that is where Treek is being held?" Tolan asks.

"For a Zorua to impersonate someone, they first have to see them. So that girl must have seen Treek at some point before coming here."

"Ah." I can hear a satisfied sound coming from Tolan as he smiles while continuing. "So it's a win-win situation for you."

"Yes. But we'll still need to find that den you were hiding in. I hope you still know where it is."

"Of course I do." Tolan says confidently. "I can show you right now."

"Then please do."

I pick Cari back up again and follow Tolan, as he excitedly strolls out of the kitchen.

We follow him leading us through the destroyed living room, where I stop for a moment to grasp the full extent of destruction that was caused by the invaders. The table I had built with my own paws is split in two and the straw of the seats has been distributed all throughout the room.

'They definitely were thorough in their endeavors to break everything.' I think to myself before turning towards Tolan who is standing inside the frame of our backdoor, lighting up the room with his tiny, flickering flame.

Outside, I continue to follow him through the yard. Not even the garden was left untouched, as the leafless branches of our well cared for berry bushes are trampled into the ground, leaving barely any of the sticks unbroken.

Tolan continues to head through the garden while keeping a look out for where he's walking. This is truly a very dark night. Not even the moon and stars seem to produce enough light for penetrating the thin cover of the trees filling the forest beyond our soil.

We walk for a while as I hold Cari in my arms with Tolan walking closely in front of me.

"You don't really have to carry me." Cari asks to me. "I think I could already walk just fine on my own again."

I pet her head, letting her know that I'm there for her, telling her that she should be honest with me.

"You shouldn't lie to your father, Cari. I believe that you'll be able to walk again soon. As a matter of fact: I'm counting on it. But for now I'll still be carrying you around, because I don't want you to put too much weight on your broken bone."

Cari sights and decides to enjoy my caressing while looking out for where we were heading.

Only a few moments later, Tolan stops in front of a tree with half of its roots exposed to the air.

"Here it is." He says while pointing at the ground on the opposite side of the tree. "Just as I remembered it."

I walk around the tree to see where he is pointing at. And sure enough: I can see a dark hole in the ground. It is very small and I start to wonder if I could even fit in there.

With the concern written all over my face, Tolan must have noticed it and begins to answer my unspoken question.

"Don't worry dad. It's just overgrown. But there should be enough room inside for all three of us."

I sit Cari down to the ground. A chance she uses to get back up on her own feet while I inspect the hole further.

I'm hoping that the den is still uninhabited, like it must have been when Tolan found it the first time. And as I hold my head up to the entrance, I can't hear any sound coming from inside.

Relieved that no one appears to be home I can also confirm that Tolan was right and the entrance is simply overgrown.

After proceeding to move aside some of the shrubs that have grown around the entrance I make it large enough that even I could fit in.

At that moment though, I can hear shouting coming from where our real den is, or rather used to be.

"Lights out", I whisper to Tolan who was still keeping his tiny candle light alive while I was digging.

I drop to the ground and through the trunks of the forest's trees I can see some light falling through a hole in the back wall of my den which I hadn't noticed before.

"Get inside the den." I whisper to Tolan and Cari.

"What about you?" My daughter asks.

"I'll have to follow them and see where they are going."

"But we want to come with you." Tolan insists with a sad tone.

"Cari's arm is still broken. And contrary to what she might like to think, she wouldn't be agile enough for this kind of mission."

"But then I could come with you." Tolan continues to argue.

"No." I respond determined. "I need you to stay and be there for your sister. You'll need each other more than I need you."

"We don't want you to leave daddy." Cari attempts to persuade me into staying. "What if you're not coming back?"

"If I'm not coming back, you'll be glad you didn't come with me."

I know that probably wasn't the best response I could have given, but it did its job as Tolan finally steps inside his den and helps his sister to follow.


	19. Nina

I wait until both Cari and Tolan are safely inside the den. It is very difficult for me to leave them behind like this. But I know that they'll be much saver staying behind instead of coming with me on my search for Treek.

I'm actually fairly surprised that someone already came to look for the Zorua. And I'm hoping that she will have already regained consciousness. - Because otherwise she might not be able to alert the patrol to her presence.

Looking back one last time to where my kids are now hiding, I can't see any light coming from the area. 'They'll be safe there. They simply must be', I try to calm my worried mind as I turn back around and slowly start creeping towards the light and voices coming from my home.

As I near them, I can start understanding what they are saying.

"She's not here!" One voice says.

Another voice responds "I told you she would just run off. We should have never paid her upfront."

'Damn.' I think to myself. 'She must still be unconscious. If she doesn't wake up now, then...'

My thought is interrupted, as the two 'mons appear to have heard something I wasn't able to hear.

"Did you hear that?" One of them asks.

"Sounds like it was coming from over there." The other responds.

I creep closer towards the back entrance of the den. Hiding in the shadows and not daring to be seen, I remain calm as I am able to start hearing what they were referring to.

"mh...pf..."

It is the muffled sound of the Zorua I locked away. Relieved that my plan appears to fall into place I continue my silent and steady breathing, thus allowing some of the anxiety to leave my body.

The sounds of footsteps loudly shuffling through various broken objects can be heard from inside.

I'm not daring to actually enter the den, as there wouldn't be any chance of hiding in there. So I have to make do with what little I'm able to understand from my position hiding just outside what I always considered my backyard. Luckily though, I can at least understand everything the patrol is saying.

"Speak up! We can't understand you. Where are you?"

"mf..."

"It's coming from over there."

"What? There's nothing there. That's just a window."

"But that's where I can hear Nina shouting from."

A few moments of silence pass before I can hear the sound of a rock moving, revealing the location of the Zorua's prison.

"What are you doing down there?"

'Sounds like her name is Nina.' I think to myself, before being able to hear a third voice. It must belong to the Zorua, but it sounds completely different than the voice she used when impersonating Treek. It sound much squeakier, but that might just be due to the location she's talking from.

"Cyder and his kids were still here, when I came." She begins. "They must have hidden in this tunnel from the others."

"Then how did you end up down there?"

"Stupid question! They almost immediately figured out that I wasn't this Treek fellow and stuck me down here."

"So you let them escape?"

"Can we discuss this later? The air in here is really bad. It's moist and really hard to breathe."

"Oh. Don't worry. I'm pretty sure the boss will want to have a talk with you."

I can't hear any further responses from Nina while the other two start talking with each other.

"Good thing they gave us this rope, huh?"

"Yea. Let's just get her out of there and get back to base. The boss will wanna speak with her, and I'm not planning on being late."

Remaining still I can hear weak shuffling sounds, as a rope must be lowered into the grotto, allowing the Zorua to get out.

After a few moments of silence pass, I can hear the voices starting to talk again while the light they must be carrying grows brighter. They are on their way to my position hiding behind a bush.

"You know." One of the voices starts talking. "I don't think the boss will too happy with you failing another mission."

"Like you never failed a mission..." I can hear the voice of the Zorua bicker back, as I see three 'mons leave through the back of my den. I can see a Luxio and a Raticate accompanying the fox apparently called Nina.

I duck down as not to be seen by the light of the torch the Raticate is carrying. And not making a sound while doing so, they don't notice me and continue on their way through the backyard before heading towards the road.

'Where did they even come from?' I wonder to myself. 'I didn't see them come through here when Tolan was showing us his hiding spot.'

Not having time to think about where they came from, I wait a moment until they are out of range to hear me before I sneak after them, keeping a noteworthy distance between me and them at all times.

After a few minutes of following them through the undergrowth, they reach the road. It wasn't easy to follow them through the darkness without the ability to light the way for myself. Luckily though, I didn't fall over any of the branches or roots lining the forest floor and was able to keep up with them without being detected.

After reaching the road they turn left, heading towards Lavary.

I remain off the road and inside the forest, not daring to set a foot on the gravel path as I would surely be detected if I chose to do so. And my goal is to go undetected and find out where they're holding Treek.

While I follow them, I can hear their conversations drift into meaningless exchanges of thoughts. I had hoped to learn about their numbers and if they are expecting reinforcements anytime soon, but all I'm able to learn are their dietary wishes when they start talking about food.

"I hope they left over some meat for us. I don't wanna do all this extra labor and be rewarded with no food." The Raticate says.

"I hear ya." The Luxio responds. "Before we headed out I took the liberty of checking what they were serving for dinner. - Roasted Miltank Beef."

"Mmmm... But let's not be fooled. They always advertise this stuff as gourmets level of food, but in the end they just hand us a can each and tell us ~dig in~."

Nina remains silent and ponders her own thoughts, while following a few steps behind. To me she seems unsure about what is going to happen next, almost looking a bit afraid. But what do I care: I'm not interested in what's going through her head.

Not much more time passes, before we near Lavary. But instead of the village itself, I can see a number of tents set up outside of it. In the background I can see a few windmills slowly rotating their wheels against the mild breeze passing over the land. Inside the forest we were always protected from wind. Even strong air currents could barely be felt because the trees absorbed most of their forces.

Lavary is built just on the edge of the thick forest my den was located in. This town being surrounded by forest from all sides, the trees spread all the way down to Lamborgy and cover all of Corasona. But despite its size, it doesn't have an official name that I know of.

I can only count four tents from where I'm standing at. Relieved that it shouldn't be too hard to find a spot from where I can listen to any of the conversations that might be going on inside, I continue to watch as the three soldiers enter the first tent and begin throwing their shadows on its walls from the inside.

The tent is on the other side of the road I was walking along next to, meaning that I have to cross it before I'll be able to listen to any of their conversations.

I look around to confirm that no one else would be watching and quickly dash across the road to hide in the shrubbery on the other side.

As I reach the other side of the road and duck into the undergrowth, the voices of the patrol I was following can already be heard talking from the inside of the tent.

"Look, who we brought back." One of them says.

"Ah. I expected you to fail your mission. But why did you not return on your own?" Asks a voice not belonging to anyone in the group I was following. And while I can't be sure, I believe that it's the same voice I've previously heard giving the order to destroy our den.

Nina begins to talk "Well sir. Cyder was in fact still there. But..."

"What?!" She is interrupted, very noticeable and sudden anger rushing into its voice. "Then what are you doing here?"

I can see the shadows of the Raticate and Luxio inching towards the exit of the tent, but getting called back by the one in charge before they manage to leave.

"Oh no! You're gonna stay right where you are until I'm done with her."

I still can't see who is actually talking to them as I follow their shadows returning to where they previously were.

"So Zorua. How come you're back here after running into Cyder?" The voice asks calmly, but with a definite undertone transmitting strong anger to the listener.

'Wow. I don't want to be that fox right now.' I think to myself as the Zorua tries to explain herself.

"They figured out that I wasn't their friend. They started asking questions I couldn't answer. If you would have given me a chance to talk to the Treecko before..."

"Silence!" The voice thundered out of his tent, muting the conversations held inside the other tents.

After a moment of silence, the voice continues while the others tents remain silent. "Are you saying that it's my fault ~your~ mission failed?"

"No sir." Nina starts babbling. "I... I... Please forgive me, sir."

"How dare you call yourself a Zorua? You're kind is supposed to be known for its ability to disguise itself. You don't have the right to wear that title if you can't even come up with believable answers when trying to uphold your identity in the field."

"Sir." She snivels. "I'm terribly sorry. It will never happen..."

"Enough!" The voice thunders anew, silencing her. "I have no use for someone like you."

"You two! Get her out of my sight! Put her in the dungeon. There she can have all the time she needs to talk to the Treecko. I will ~deal~ with her in the morning. - Then we'll see if you can still call yourself a Zorua."

"Yes, sir!" I can hear two voices of the Luxio and Raticate yell in unison, followed by the fox's last efforts to rectify her actions.

"Please sir, I... uhf"

I can hear the air leave the lungs of the Zorua, as she must have been kicked in the stomach for her insubordination.

Shortly after the Raticate and Luxio drag out a hard breathing Nina, as she tries to regain her breath after having the wind knocked out of her.

While waiting and watching them walk outside and around the tent heading into Lavary, I start to wonder where they might be heading to.

'They were talking about some kind of dungeon. But I've never heard of any prisons around here. This is a peaceful cottage village. There's never been any reason for this town to have a prison.'

Moments before I would have lost sight of them, I decide to jump out of the bush and continue by pursue of them.

Running on all fours I jump from shadow to shadow, always keeping myself hidden from the weak streaks of moonlight passing through the clouds from time to time.

'Things seem to have been running well so far.' I think to myself. 'But I shouldn't jinx it, seeing that I can't even transport out of here.'

I couldn't find my exploration badge, when we were scavenging for anything that was still intact, since I couldn't find my bag when I was searching my room. Meaning that they either took it or it was destroyed beyond recognition.

As I continue to follow the three of them, Nina apparently regains her ability to talk.

Still breathing heavily, she starts to bargain for her freedom.

"Please guys. You can't do this to me. It was just an honest mistake. - Please, I'm young and still learning how to react in certain kinds of situations."

"Sorry Nina, but if we don't do this it'll be us rotting in there instead of you."

"Please! He's going to kill me tomorrow. I just know it. Didn't you hear how he said that he was going to ~deal~ with me?"

"Stop being a wimp, Nina. He's probably not going to kill you. But I wouldn't wanna be in your skin tomorrow."

They walk through Lavary's market place. Similar in size to Lamborgy's but rectangular in shape, I peek around the corner of a house and watch them cross it.

Nina is trying to get released from the 'mons dragging her behind them. She is held by her paws and is oriented backwards, leaving her to literally be dragged backwards while barely being able to walk on her own.

As I watch them walk, Nina's eyes sudden fall on me peeking around the corner. Our eyes meet for a moment and I can see her mouth open before quickly dashing back into the shadow of the building while breathing heavily. But after letting a moment pass, I'm not able to hear any words come from her and the fox remains silent.

I wait another moment before daring to peek around the corner again, at which point I'm only able to catch the glimpse of them passing around the next corner on the other side of the market.

'Why didn't she say anything?' I wonder to myself. 'She clearly must have seen me.'

Not having the time to think about it any further, I continue my pursuit by dashing across the marketplace.

I can the see the moody lighting of the moon and stars reflect of the ground. The snow from yesterday had melted and the ground is still a little bit wet.

Quickly reaching for the nearest shadow on the other side of the market, I carefully peek around the corner they disappeared behind, to see the three of them heading down the road.

Nina is still being held by her paws in the middle, while being dragged along the gravel path and trying to regain a foothold to properly walk.

I continue to pursue them, keeping the distance between me and them at its maximum to avoid further detection by the Zorua still looking back and down the road they're walking. She hasn't given up on attempting to wriggle her way out of the Raticate and Luxio's firm grip. But to no avail as the hold the two of them have on her is too strong.

After some more time of following them, jumping from shadow to shadow, we reach the border of the town. If I'm correct, then the path they are heading down leads to a cliff in the north-west corner of the peninsula. But surely they can't be heading there. There's nothing there except for some beach chairs in the summer.

And I'm correct, as once they're out of town they immediately turn a corner, heading off the path and into the forest lining the town on this side as well.

I've never actually explored off-road up here, meaning that the terrain they are heading into is new to me as well.

But I barely have time to think about it, as I see them reach a stone doorframe a few moments later. A couple of big rocks have been leaned against and stacked on top of each other to form an entrance to something underground I assume to be a cavern.

In front, I can see an Arbok that previously had been peacefully dosing away while lying in front of the entrance suddenly snaps back to attention and starts talking to them.

"*zzzz* huh? Halt!" It hisses. "Who goezzz zzere?"

"It's just us, Zizzle." The Luxio responds. "Boss says this one has to spend the night down there."

Blinking to get the sleep out of its eyes, the Arbok responds to them while yawning.

"Shhhure. Go rrright ahead."

The snake moves aside and gets back into a comfortable position while rolling its body into a coil.


	20. Dungeon

As the trio starts heading in, with Zizzle comfortably snoozing away, Nina tries to get herself out of her captors grasps one last time.

"Please you guys!" She bids them. "Don't put me in there."

In the faint lighting of the torch carried by the Raticate, I can see tears starting to form in her eyes.

"I'm just a kid. I wasn't ready for something like this."

"Sorry Nina." The rat responds. "But we can't ignore an order given by the boss."

I watch the Raticate and Luxio drag the fox down some stairs leading into the ground while the Zorua continues to whine and searches for anything else to say. But only a few moments later I can no longer see the glowing of the Raticate's torch.

I remain at my position, as I'm assuming this to be the dungeon I've heard them talking about earlier. And with the Arbok in front of it, it won't be easy to get in there.

So I decide to continue to eyeballing the snake until the Raticate and Luxio would come back. And while doing so for a while I start to think that this guard is really asleep. He isn't even responding to the sounds of a wild Hoothoot flying overtop the clearing this dungeon entrance is located in.

After some time passes, I can see the soldiers returning, this time without their third, female companion and walking up to the snake that still isn't responding to their presence as he appears to be deep asleep.

"Hey! Wake up, Zizzle." The Luxio makes him. "We're done here."

Barely responding at all, the snake lifts his head a bit and starts to hiss back at him.

"I wasssn't azzzleep."

Not giving a damn, the Raticate and Luxio shrug their shoulders and head back the way they came, leaving me and the sleepy snake alone again.

I remember what Treek had said to me yesterday. He reminded me of the time of year and that I have a distinct advantage against other 'mons by not being affected by the cold as much. Snakes are cold blooded, which would explain why this snake appears so incapacitated at the moment.

Not stopping to eyeball the snake, some time passes while I plan out my next move. The Hoothoot I had previously seen returns and lands in the clearing. But the snake doesn't seem to mind a bit, as it continues to doze peacefully, seemingly undisturbed and unaware of anything.

'There is no other way...' I think to myself. 'I'll just have to go for it and hope for the best. Sooner or later I have to get in there if I want to safe Treek. And the odds aren't going to get any better than this.'

I wait for the Hoothoot to fly off again as I'm afraid I might startle it and cause it to shout out, thereby possibly gaining the attention of the snake guarding the entrance.

After the Hoothoot finally decides to do so, I drop down on all fours and start dashing across the clearing, heading for the back of the entrance.

I get lucky and remain detected, as I reach the stones and take cover in the shadow they are casting on the terrain.

Peeking around the corner of the structure, I can see the stairs to my right. They lead into complete darkness and I can feel sticky moisture blowing against me from below. Neither the moon nor the stars are casting their light in a way that allows me to make out more than the first couple of stairs and I have no idea how far down they reach.

'Good.' I think to myself. 'This means it's unlikely that there are any more guards downstairs.'

My eyes fall on the snake that seems to be having trouble sleeping as he starts regaining consciousness.

'Oh no.' I realize my mistake. 'He must be able to smell my presence. Snakes are able to pick up on nearby creatures, by simply using their tongue.'

I take what little time I have remaining to finish sneaking around the corner of the entrance, passing within only half a meter's distance away from the snake guard.

Though I get lucky and don't wake him up, as I find myself running down the stairs leading into the dungeon. Still on all fours I head down, talking care not to make too much noise by keeping my claws retreated and only lightly tapping each step, muffling the sounds with the fur on my paws.

The stairs aren't as long as I was afraid they'd be. And I quickly reach their end to find myself in the absolute darkness I had already seen from above, as I can hear some moaning coming from the snake upstairs. He seems to have decided on ignoring what he must have felt when I passed by, as I can hear him stretching himself and going back to sleep.

I turn around again and look back into the darkness. And not wanting to risk already activating my flame, I continue onwards into it while deciding to only start throwing a light once I've already take a few steps into it.

I think about the Zorua again. 'I still have to be careful.' I tell myself. 'If she sees me, she might call out for the guard upstairs.'

Continuing onward with determination, I run into some kind of black cloth I hadn't noticed before. And startled, I take a step back to investigate the strange object I just made contact with. It seems to be hanging from the ceiling and appears to be a curtain of some kind.

Relieved that I haven't run into another guard, I proceed to its other side, where I finally allow myself to get a look at my surroundings.

Starting out with the smallest flame I can manage, it still is enough to flood the room with enough light for me to see everything as my eyes were already adjusted to the darkness.

I find myself in what appears to be a natural cavern. Rocks pointing downwards from the ceiling above and the tips of some protruding from the ground can be seen. She ground is mostly covered with gravel and the same sticky humidity I've already felt upstairs is surrounding me from all sides.

As I look around the cavern, I can count six big cages in total, three on the left and three more of the right side. They look old and rusty and have sliding doors that probably haven't seen any use in decades. Most of them are empty, expect for two of them that immediately grab my attention.

On my left I can see the Zorua staring at me bewilderedly, but remaining silent. Her mouth is wide open, as she must have not expected to see me again. - Much less in a setting like this one.

Leaving her out of the picture for now, I avert my eyes and continue to look at the other cages. And sure enough, I find a Treecko in the cage to the right of me. He doesn't seem to have noticed my arrival and appears to be deep asleep, but I'm sure that he is Treek. - The real Treek.

Walking over to his cage, I can feel the eyes of the stunned fox following me and penetrating my back. But as long as she doesn't start yelling for help, that's fine with me.

"Treek." I whisper to the grass type.

Not getting any response from him, I instead receive an answer from elsewhere, as the Zorua finally regains her speech and starts talking to me.

"You're... Cyder? How?"

I turn around and press a finger up against my lips, signaling that she should remain silent.

Not saying another word I begin whispering to her, as I had already planned what to do about her while I was waiting for the right moment to come in.

"I know what they did to you." I begin, keeping a straight face and looking the fox behind bars directly into her eyes.

After a short pause I continue. "And I want you to think about what you're going to do next. Are you going to shout for help, or would you like to get out of here as well?"

Instead of a verbal response, Nina decides to answer my question by closing her mouth which she still had been keeping wide opened.

I was expecting this reaction, as I turn back towards the Treecko to continue my attempts of waking him as silently as possible.

But I don't have to, as I turn and look straight into his face, portraying the happiness and joy that is to be expected from someone in his situation.

"Cyder!" He whispers to me, obviously more than happy to see me again.

"I thought I'd never see you again." He continues, not giving me any time to respond. "I'm so sorry. They grabbed me before I even reached Lamborgy. Then they had a psychic read my mind to find out where your home is. I'm so sorry, Cyder. I couldn't resist him."

Finally getting an opportunity to respond, I immediately grab it and begin talking. "It's OK. But I'll still have to get you out of there. 'You know where the keys are?"

"No." He answers, most of the joy already leaving his face. "I think they took them when they locked me up in here."

A voice from behind me adds to the statement. "Yes. There are no keys here. They don't keep them here for security reasons. But..."

Treek interrupt Nina's whispering and asks the obvious question.

"Who's she?" He whispers.

"Long story." I answer. "But we'll help her get out of here with us."

I turn around to look back into the face of the Zorua held captive in the cell on the other side of the cavern before she continues to whisper.

"As I was trying to say before..." The fox begins speaking. "You could try to melt the locks. They're made out of old and rusted metal. This place had been abandoned for centuries before we came here and had to clean it up to get a place for putting him."

While saying that she points to Treek, who seems to be confused over what he just heard.

"She's one of them!" He whispers, almost shouting the words in my direction.

I turn back around and begin whispering to him again. "She ~was~ one of them. They locked her up down here because she failed to capture me."

I grab the lock of Treek's cage and begin squeezing it in my hands, starting to heat it up to the point where I can just rip it off while Treek takes the opportunity to start asking more questions.

"What? They only send one 'mon that's not even an adult yet to catch you? Are those 'mons stupid or something?"

"No Treek." I continue while starting to feel the lock heat up in my paws. "It's not that simple. They invaded the den and broke everything before sending her to impersonate you in case I was still there; which I was."

"Impersonate me?" Treek starts to wonder out loudly while looking around me and at the fox on the other side of the cavern. "She doesn't look like me or any Treecko. She's not even a grass type for that matter."

"She's a Zorua." I say while beginning to feel the padlock softening in my paws.

In an attempt to speed up the process of heating up the lock, I start breathing on it while Treek finally appears to understand what had happened.

"Oh." He says. "I've never actually seen a Zorua. But I've heard about your species." Turning towards the fox, he continues. "You can change your appearance, can't you?"

I can't hear any response from the fox behind me and simply assume that she gave Treek a nod instead of actually talking to him, as I finally begin to the feel the metal becoming bendable and stop trying to heat it up before continuing by ripping the lock off of the door.

It comes off easily and quickly without making too much noise and I proceed by throwing it aside. A mistake in hindsight, as is bangs against the ground and produces a ringing that continues to echo throughout the chamber and could surely be heard outside.

I immediately turn off the flame I had just reignited after being done with the lock and drop to the floor to listen for anything outside.

We are a few meters underground and the snake guarding the entrance appeared very much asleep and unwilling to actually do its job and guard this place. But there is still the possibility that he might have heard the lock colliding with the ground.

After a minute of holding my breath and not hearing anything except for the pounding of my heart, I decide that enough time has passed to assume that nobody had heard it.

So I stand up and reignite my flame before looking around the cavern to see Treek and Nina slowly following my example as they arise as well.

"Don't do that again." Treek whispers to me.

"Sorry." I respond. "I should have thought about that beforehand. Hmm... Thinking about noise: do these cage doors squeak when you try to open them?"

"I don't know, Cyder." Treek responds. "I was unconscious when they brought me in."

Hearing the sound of Nina clearing her throat, I turn around as she begins to whisper to me. "You're right. These doors do in fact squeak. At least the one you're standing in front of right now. - But I think if you press down on the lower rail, it won't make any sounds."

"You think?" I try to get her to elaborate on the statement as I turn back to face Treek who's eyes are telling me that I shouldn't trust her.

Ignoring his unspoken warning, I decide to take the chance and speak up again. "It's worth a try."

I do as Nina suggested and before Treek can raise another veto, the door slides open without making any sound loud enough to cause me to worry.

Already forgetting about Nina's part in his escape, he immediately steps out of his cage and begins talking to me.

"Let's get out of here."

"No Treek." I say to him. "I promised the Zorua that we'd help her escape too."

"Why?" He responds. "Why should we help her?"

Continuing to defend Nina, I answer "She did her part by not yelling for help. And she even told us how to open your cage without alerting the guard."

"Hmpf" Comes the response from Treek.

"Did I mention that being kept here isn't even her punishment?" I try to convince him. "That's just to given them time to come up with the real penalty."

I look Treek in his eyes and can see some of the hatred he must still be holding against the Zorua vanish.

"Fine", he says a moment later with a bored voice. "But if this is a trap, don't you act like I didn't warn you."

"It's not a trap. I promise you." Nina responds for me while trying to maintain a hearty smile on her face.

Treek remains standing still and in front of his former prison while I walk over to Nina's in order to fulfill my end of the bargain and unlock her cage as well.

"Thanks", she whispers as I grab her cage's lock and begin heating it up between my paws, like I did with the one that had been holding Treek.


	21. Team

Some time passes without any words being exchanged, while I can feel Treek judging my actions with his displeased eyes stabbing me in the back. I know he only has the best intentions for me, but with her only being a child and after seeing how she was treated, I started getting a good feeling about her. And while I wouldn't trust her not to stab me in the back the moment I'd stop paying attention to her, I don't think she is planning on betraying us before being safe from the military herself.

"You know..." She begins whispering to me while I continue to press down on the lock to her cage "I thought I saw you sneaking around when they dragged me through town. But I couldn't believe my eyes back then. And I still kind of can't."

"You let yourself get seen?" Treek judgingly interrupts her from behind, probably having waited for the next opportunity to keep me from freeing the Zorua.

And while Nina was probably not really planning to go anywhere with her statement, I ignore Treek's accusation and use the chance to find out more about her character.

"What would you have done, if you had trusted your eyes?"

I know that my question makes it fairly obvious what I really want to know. But I'm mostly interested in how she's going to respond.

Without hesitation, she begins answering immediately. "Probably the same thing I actually did: don't say anything and see how things turn out if I chose to ignore it."

I expected something like this answer. And I've got the feeling that Nina is lying to me. She didn't think a second before answering; meaning that she already had the response prepared before I stated the question. I decide to confront her and let go of the lock before being done melting it, instantly grabbing her attention while doing so.

"I don't believe you. You might just be a kid. And the Raticate and Luxio may not have believed your words, if you had tried to tell them what you saw. But I think you would have been more loyal than that."

I get no response from the fox but did apparently grab the attention of Treek, as he steps up to stand beside me, giving the Zorua a smug look as I continue with another question in an emotionless voice.

"Next question: what are you going to do, when I finally unlock your cage?"

This time Nina thinks for a moment before actually giving me an honest answer. She must have realized that lying wasn't going to get her far when dealing with me.

"I... I don't really know." She begins answering. "Up until now I only had my mind set on getting out of here. Because I'm really afraid of what the boss is planning to do with me tomorrow."

Satisfied with the honest answer I've been given, I grab the lock again and continue heating it up.

Treek already seems to understand where I'm going with this and starts talking to me before I can continue to talk to the fox.

"Oh no. Out of the question. You're not gonna ask ~her~..." While saying it he points at the Zorua still trying to uphold an honest and grateful expression. "To... join us?"

Instead of me answering his question, Nina stands up and begins talking to me excitedly. "You'd let me join you? That would be... amazing. Yes! Yes! Of course I'd join you, if it meant getting some food in my stomach every once in a while and not getting beat up when I fail a task."

Keeping ahold of the lock, I try to calm down both of them as their voices start reaching the critical point of no longer just being whispers. And we can't forget the fact that there is still the Arbok sleeping and guarding at the entrance.

"Psht." I whisper. "Don't speak so loudly."

After two very silent apologies from Treek and Nina, I continue to talk as if I hadn't been interrupted.

"Yes. I was planning on asking you to join us."

Treek tries to interrupt be again, but I interrupt him back before he can say the first word. "Let me finish, Treek", I say as I turn back to the fox behind bars.

"Even if you join us, I can't guaranty being able to get you food whenever you feel hungry. - Much less food you might find tasty. As you saw for yourself, your troops wrecked my whole place. But I can promise you that you won't get beat up if you fail a task."

After jokingly adding that I can't promise the same for Treek, I continue. "But what you need to understand here, is that I need to be able to trust you. No. - We need to be able to trust you. You've shown to me that you might be trustworthy, but that's only half of it. The same way you shown that to me, you'll have to show Treek as well."

After ending my sentence I let go of the lock which had already started to glow a hot red, before turning to Treek who is no longer wearing his smug expression and instead is already thinking about the decision he would have to make about the fox.

Sadly though, looking back and forth between Treek and the Zorua, I can see how Treek's thoughtful expression begins to show mild anger, while Nina's expression shifts from the darling smile to a face of fear. And after a while Treek begins to speak again, not trying to hide the anger in his voice.

"You tried to impersonate me..." He says, forcing himself to hold back most of his anger while the fox takes a few steps away from the metal cage door.

Grabbing onto the bars of Nina's cage Treek continues. "But you don't even know me. Don't think I'm just as gullible as Cyder. And look where we are now after the tables have turned. Now it is me, who stands on the outside of the cage. And even putting all of that aside, I don't believe you are willing to become a traitor just to skip some punishment."

After a short pause during which Nina starts shaking he continues. "No... I don't buy that. So proof it to me!"

Stepping back from bars, I can see the fox continuing to shake in fear as she tries to figure out how to respond to Treek while the tension the grass type had spewed in the air continues to grow.

"You..." She begins weakly, almost crying before looking at me. "Cyder! You promised you'd let me out of here." She tries to defend herself.

"Oh don't worry", I respond to her. "I'll stick to my promises. This is about what happens after. We'll either let you go to be recaptured by your comrades who'll skin you alive, leaving to become a nice ol' carpet on the wall of some wealthy royalty. Or if we should take the chance and trust you not to betray us at the first chance you might be given."

"I..." The fox starts babbling, before I interrupt her again.

"I agree with Treek. I think we have the right to know why ~we~ should help you."

"I..." Nina continues to babble. "I... I helped you open Treek's cage. I... I didn't tell them you were following us. I... I don't want to be killed..."

Tears start to form in her eyes and she breaks down to the ground from all the fearful shaking, as I continue to talk to her on Treek's behalf.

"You should know that you could be killed even if we decide to let you join us. Believe me: if being killed is truly what you are afraid of, then I don't think there's any way out of this for you..."

I can hear the fox starting to cry silently, trying not to alert the guard upstairs while I'm beginning to have my own difficulties trying to suppress my feelings of compassion.

Emotionally, it takes everything out of me to continue talking in the bland voice required. "Tell me Nina: why do you truly want to join us? What is it that'll keep you from immediately talking the easy exit and just handing us over to the government?"

I look at Treek who seems to have even more difficulties than me trying to swallow his companion for the fox, as it takes all his concentration to keep himself from shaking while standing next to me and staring at Nina with a forced straight face.

Not looking up, Nina starts talking again.

"My parents..." She begins before being interrupted by her own whimpering. "I've never met my parents."

I can tell that she is telling the truth, as she continues to whimper and doesn't lift her head while speaking.

"I was hatched in a military medical station and never new anything different."

The fox does her best to continue talking around her snivels. "I always had the feeling that I was stolen from my real parents. And that they were killed by the soldiers I had to serve my whole life since birth."

'What she is saying does make sense', I think to myself. 'From what I know Zatola doesn't really have any terrains suitable for Zorua or Zoroark families to live in. That's why I wasn't even expecting a Zorua disguised as Treek to show up, which would also mean that her parents are from another country.'

The fox stands up and continues to talk with shaking legs and big eyes sparkling from her wet tears in the weak light of my flame.

"Please." She says. "I always knew those guys were evil. And I never wanted anything more but to get away from them. Even if..." She swallows some of the pain in her voice before continuing. "Even if it means getting myself killed in the process."

I look at Treek again, who finally appears to share my impression of the fox. Looking at me and looking back at him, I can see that he is satisfied with the answer the fox had given to us. - Just like I am after hearing her open her heart to us.

I give him a nod he returns before grabbing the padlock of Nina's cage and starting to heat it up again, as it lost some of its heat and isn't even glowing any more.

"We believe you, Nina." I say, looking through the bars and immediately silencing the foxes whimpering, as she looks up to us before Treek continues to talk.

"You passed the test. We needed to know that you had a reason for betraying the military, other than wanting to live. I believe that you won't try to betray us at the first chance you might get."

"Really?" Nina says to him, now standing up again and no longer shaking all over her body while looking back at us with a truly grateful and determined look on her face.

"Yes." Treek answers. "But don't think that I won't be keeping an eye on you. And don't expect that we'll share all of our plans with you. You can stick with us for the time being, and if you don't do anything stupid, like trying to impersonate me again, then you can stay with us indefinitely. And if you remain loyal, in time we might even start including you when planning."

Probably ignoring most of everything that Treek had just said, the fox already knew what she was going to say from the moment Treek had started saying the first words.

"Thank you!" She whispers to him, wiping tears out of her eyes as I finish my job and am now holding the loose lock to her cell in my paws.

Not repeating the same mistake I had made with Treek's cage, I carefully put the lock on the ground, thereby preventing any loud noises resulting from doing so.

I re-summon my flame and continue by opening her cage the same way I opened Treek's. I put down my foot on the lower rail and continue to slide it open.

Only that this cage doesn't seem to follow the same rules Treek's did, as a loud squeaking fills the cave, surely to be heard outside.

Nina grinds her teeth, as I proceed by extinguishing my flame and dropping to the ground again.

This time however, we don't appear to be as lucky as we were when I dropped Treek's padlock, when a sizzling, grumpy voice coming from upstairs can be heard.

"Hey! What'zzz going one down thhhere?"

"Damn." I whisper, quickly forming an escape plan in my head.

Wasting no time, I immediately get an idea and begin to set it into motion.

"Nina." I whisper into the darkness.

"Yes?" I get a response.

"I need you to turn into one of the soldiers and go out there to call off the snake."

"I can't do that." I get as a response.

"Sure you can." I answer, not seeing a problem with my plan.

"No. I'm not that good with my illusion yet. I've never had a real teacher and always need a mirror or something to correct details when I'm trying to change into something."

'They probably didn't want her to become too good.' I think to myself as I can hear the voice of the Arbok coming closer before I continue trying to persuade the fox into following my plan.

"Please. There's not much more time. It'll be dark, so as long as you can get the voice decent enough, I'm confident that he'll believe you. Just tell him that you're relieving him in guard duty."

After a moment passes, during which I could have sworn to hear a sigh, I can hear Nina talking again. "OK. I'll give it try..."

A few moments later I see a Raticate leaving the cavern, walking past the curtain I bumped into when I arrived.

"Ey, Rafffffle. Wwwhat are you doing heeere?" I can hear Zizzle starting to talk.

"Ah Zizzle. Finally decide to wake up, huh?" I can hear the minimally convincing voice of the Raticate that brought Nina here begin to speak.

"Boss' send me here to relieve you from duty. – You lucky 'mon..."

"Oh. That'zzz very niccce. Finally I can get sssome ssleep. But what where you doing down thhhere?"

"Well. Seeing how you were doing such an excellent job guarding this place, I just checked if there was anything left to guard."

"Zzzzz. You'd bettter be glad thhhat it'sss ssso late." The snake says, obviously annoyed at the ironic accusation before deciding to take the ironic approach himself and giving his goodbyes to the Raticate.

"Well. I'm offff. Have ffun guarding until thhhe nexxt ssshift arrivesss. Hzz hzz hzz."

I can hear Nina's soft footsteps shuffling over the ground alongside a fluent rustling that must be coming from the snake winding over the stairs, as the two of them are heading outside. And after a few minutes have passed I can hear Nina's footsteps returning without the sounds the snake had made before.

Shortly after the Raticate re-enters the room, I re-summon the flame to bring light to the scenery.

Treek seem to be very impressed by what Nina just did. "Wow!" He says. "You really pulled it off. That was amazing!"

I give her my congratulations as well while noticing that the Raticate standing before me is missing one of its ears and doesn't appear to have come with a tail.

'She wasn't lying when she said that she's only a beginner.' I think to myself, as the questionable Raticate vanishes into thin air and reveals a fox standing before us.

"Yes" I say, trying to get back on point. "Good job, Nina."

Drawing her paw through the gravel covering the ground, I could swear that the fur covering her cheeks changed its color into a weak red.

"Ah." She tries to stop our sweet talk. "Getting in this situation was my fault. I forgot to mention that not necessarily all the cages can be opened silently with the same trick."

While she grabs ahold of hers and I grab Treek's attention, I speak up again. "We still have to get out of here, though." Only speaking to Nina, I continue. "As you probably already figured out for yourself, I didn't bring the kids with me here. So we still have to go back to get them."

While finishing my sentence I point towards the curtain covering the entrance and begin walking towards it before being interrupted by Treek.

"What are we planning to do after we get the kids?" He asks.

Looking at the fox still bathing in the admiration we had just given her, I simply say to him "We should probably discuss that at a later point..."

Treek nods to me and tells the Zorua to follow us, as I walk past the curtain leading out of the dungeon.


	22. Heading out

I walk past the curtain and am met with the moonlight shining down upon me. The clouds covering the sky have cleared up and I can see the moon casting its light directly on the upper stairs of the dungeon's entrance.

Not paying too much attention to it, I'm still relieved that I won't have to risk casting a flame for us to see where we are going.

I can hear Treek and Nina passing through the curtain and following me up the stairs.

The stairs are very used and have definitely seen better days. In some sections they could be better described as tilted slides with small indents every once in a while. The rain water that must be flowing down here all the time really has taken its toll. Downstairs I previously noticed a few grates in the ground near the curtain at the entrance. Considering that the cave is a natural formation, I assume they are leading to other caves, eventually meeting up with some underground lake used for supplying Lavary with its ground water.

As I reach the clearing above-ground again I find myself alone. I can't hear or see the Hoothoot or other ferals flying around anymore and start plotting the path we would take to get Tolan and Cari from home.

'We have to be fast to get to them.' I think to myself while looking up at the sky. I can't see the sun yet, but I assume that most of the night has already passed.

I turn around and see Treek and Nina following in my footsteps, meeting up with me in the clearing as I start talking to them about the route.

"We can't really go the way we came." I begin. "Going through town again will be too dangerous. And it won't be too much longer before they start suspecting that something is amiss. Once the snake arrives back at the camp, there is a good chance it'll run across the Raticate you were impersonating."

"We'll have to go around town and try to stay as far away from the roads as possible. So I propose we circle around and keep inside the forest at all times. If I'm not mistaken, we shouldn't have to cross a single road that way."

I can see Treek nodding his agreement to me before Nina joins him after noticing.

"Good. Now I won't risk lighting up the way because we'd most likely be spotted. So we'll have to rely on the light of the moon and stars to guide us." I say while pointing up. I can see a few clouds peacefully passing overhead, before I look back at my Team.

"We'll also have to be extra careful to cover our tracks. - At least for the first few dozen meters."

I start walking away from the center of the clearing towards its edge, starting the journey back to my old home in order to get my kids.

But before we even reach the edge, I turn back around to Treek.

"Treek. I want this to be as clean as it can be. And I'm talking snapped blades of grass level of detail here. So just make sure to do your thing and straighten them after we've trampled them down."

He nods and I turn to Nina to tell her what I want her to do.

"Nina. I want you to walk directly next to me. I hope you won't mind me keeping an eye on you and maybe having a little chit-chat while we're walking."

After she gives me a nod as well and walks up to me, I turn back around and continue on the way I have plotted in my head, leading into the forest and away from the clearing.

After some time passes, we can no longer see the clearing when looking back. I tell Treek that he can stop covering our tracks and turn towards Nina to start the talk I promised to have with her.

"First of all Nina: I want to apologize for putting you through our questions and having to endure the responses I gave you when you were still locked up. I'm not saying that anything I said wasn't the truth. But I know that you're just a kid yourself."

After a short pause I continue my apology. "But there are a few character traits I need my friends to have. So I had to make sure that you had them. But don't worry: I won't put you through anything like that again."

A few moments of silence pass and I start to wander if Nina is still walking next to me. Checking for her I can confirm her at my side, processing what I just said to her before I continue to speak.

"Exactly how old are you anyways?"

Finally getting an answer out of her again, she responds. "From what they told me, I should be turning four years in a couple of weeks."

"Listen..." I try to kick start the conversation. "I don't know what they told you about me. But I'm actually a really nice 'mon. All that I want is to life in peace and have the whole world follow that example."

"How do you want to do that?"

"My basic goal is to reunite the four nations. - Like they were hundreds of years ago, before they split apart."

"Then what are you even planning to do? You're the Holder of wisdom they say. And if you don't even have any ideas on how to fix this, then I don't even understand what you're still doing here."

I sigh before I continue. "If I knew exactly how to do that, the war would have already ended. But it's not like I could just choose to leave; it's not that simple. But I assume you wouldn't know what it's like. To you I'm this mystical being who has the knowledge to change the world if he wanted to."

After a short pause, I continue without looking at her and staring at the path up ahead. "But having the knowledge is only half of it. It is the proper tools I am lacking."

I sigh again as I start wandering about what I just said. I know that there are much more pressing matters at paw, but now I can't stop to think about what my real plan for getting out of this mess looks like.

'Hmm. I should check for research on that in the library of the ancients.' I think to myself, as I continue to ponder over an idea I just had.

'I haven't been there in ages... But it doesn't matter. It might sound simple in theory, but nothing I know of would be that powerful. Nothing that powerful should even be allowed to exist in this world...'

I continue to wander about my idea as I can see the last of the town's houses far to the left of us go out of view, before I get ripped out of the thought by Treek starting to talk to me.

"Hey Cyder. You've been really quiet this whole time."

Ripped out of my thought, I look up and see my friend talking to me.

"I though you wanted to have a discussion with me." Nina says from the left of me. "But you've been totally unresponsive for like half an hour."

I look around myself and can confirm that we are very close to the location of my old den.

"Oh." I say. "Sorry, I must have dozed off."

"Well, it shouldn't matter. We're almost back to the den." Treek says.

"Great." I respond. "But Tolan and Cari aren't hiding there."

I shake my head and snap back into reality while filing my new idea, before taking the lead and reaching Tolan's den only a few minutes later.

"Tolan?" I say tenderly while peeking through the hole in the ground where he and Cari should be in. "Cari? I'm back."

I can hear a calm breathing coming from inside the den.

'They must be asleep', I think to myself before entering the den myself.

I had trouble getting in, as the hole was still fairly small even after I widened it before I left. And as I finally find myself standing on its other side I turn back around, looking at Treek and Nina and telling them to wait for a moment.

"Wait there. And Nina: be nice them. 'Cause them trusting you is just as important to me as Treek trusting you."

She rolls her eyes as I turn back around and am immediately confronted with Tolan standing in front of me.

"Daddy! You've made it back!"

I'm knocked backwards as he jumps at me, giving me a hearty hug as greeting. While lying on my back, I can see Cari directly behind, doing her best to try and jump on me while minding her broken arm.

"We were so worried about you", She exclaims.

"And you managed to rescue Treek!" Tolan continues.

I look up and can see Treek smiling into the den. Even though it is dark, I can tell that my kids and best friend were very happy to see each other again. Nina must have ducked down in order to not interrupt this emotional reunion. But she must have not been able to hold herself back for too long, as I see her peeking over the edge of the hole just a moment later.

Tolan and Cari are still very busy squeezing the breath out of my lungs, as she opens her mouth to greet them.

"Hay, guys." She says, trying to sound tender and affectionate.

But that isn't how Tolan and Cari react. Not knowing of our new companion, they immediately stop caressing me and freeze solid.

"D- D- Daddy! Soldier!" Tolan stutters and begins to shiver while Cari open her eyes wide in fear.

"Calm down." I say to them. "She's on our side."

I look back up to Nina as she makes a wide smile, looking as kind as she can manage. She truly looks very gentle as Tolan and Cari return from their shocked state back to their afraid state.

"B- B- But she was the one who impersonated uncle Treek." Cari argues, still shaking a bit.

"Don't worry Cari." I say, trying to weaken the intensity of the moment. "Try to get to know her. She'll be staying with us for now."

I sit back up and watch as Tolan and Cari stop shaking. But still unsure of our new acquaintance, they start the lousiest excuse for a conversation ever.

"H- Hi?" Tolan says, almost making it sound like a question.

Nina responds, still keeping the sincere look on her face. "Hi back. I'm Nina and you must be Cyder's kids. I guess we met before, but mind telling me your names?"

Nina should already know their names. While not common knowledge among the 'mons hunting me, I am assuming that they would have told her, seeing what her job was when she originally came to my den.

"T- Tolan?" My son answers, still making it sound like a question.

But Cari is a bit more acceptant and answers her name without stuttering, but still only saying the word itself. "Cari."

And while she already seem to cope with the idea of letting Nina join us much better than Tolan does, I cut the conversation short as I remind everyone of our situation.

"Not to be rude, but we can't stay here forever. By now they'll most likely have detected the escape and will already be searching for all of us."

Feeling the attention of everyone directed at me, I continue. "Considering Treek has gone missing as well, they'll probably start looking here. - So we have to get going as soon as possible."

Nina seems to be the one with the most disagreement to my plan.

"Ugh. Can't we wait 'till morning? We've already been walking for like forever."

Looking up, I give her a bored look as she immediately realizes her mistake and jumps up to correct herself.

"I mean... I'm ready to go!"

"Good." I say while already starting to help Tolan and Cari get out of the den. "Because I want you to carry Cari. She's got a broken arm it would be best if both my paws remained free, in case we need to shine a light on something."

Nina is no longer able to sustain the fake smile she forced into her face a few moments ago. But decides to roll with it and agrees.

"Ugh. Fiiiinnne." She sighs.

"Hey. I didn't say it was going to be easy. But don't worry Nina: for now let's just try to get a few kilometers past Lavary. There, deep in the forest, we will make camp and sleep until we wake up."

Saying that seems to cheer her up, as she responds with a not as forced smile and gives me a nod in agreement.

'Only problem now will be food and supplies.' I think to myself, as I squeeze myself back out of Tolan's den.

Once outside, my eyes fall back on my destroyed den.

Putting aside the anger and sadness I can feel rushing back, I start to explain the first thing we should do.

"We should start by grabbing all the supplies that might still come in handy. But we can't stay too long. - As I just said: A patrol sent to check out the den might already be on its way."

Not waiting for a response I start heading towards my old den, only to be called back by Treek.

"Wait up Cyder. You're right that they'll be looking for me in there, but shouldn't we wait for them to come? If we wait until they're gone again, we don't have to worry about them interrupting us."

"Bad Idea Treek: if we wait, then who's to say they won't permanently station someone there to wait for your arrival. And if you don't show up, they might continue by searching the nearby woods. - Thus increasing the risk of actually finding us if we were to wait."

I turn back around and start continuing towards the den.

Treek isn't bringing any new concerns to my attention on the way, and when we finally reach the back entrance I'm the first to enter.

"Hey..." Nina says to me in an apologetic tone. "Sorry we wrecked your place like that."

"It's not your fault." I respond, turning towards her and wearing an sincere expression. "You weren't even among those who actually trashed everything."

I turn back around and start assigning different areas of the home to everyone. Tolan and Cari would pick up the berries we managed to scavenge before I headed out to rescue Treek, and check in the storage for any stray Orbs that might have survived. Treek would quickly check for his bag and be outside on the lookout for the patrol we are expecting. Finally, Nina and I would look through the things in my bedroom, as I am still hoping to find my bag and recover my emblem.

Once in the full swing of it I find myself together with her, as we go through the piles of broken wooden beams, planks and panels with dirt scattered all over the floor of my room.

The bag I'm still hoping to find should contain everything I'd need for a journey like the one I'm planning from our trip to Lamborgy.

After looking around for a while, I finally manage to catch a glimpse of something that looks like the bag I'm looking for. In the weak light of the flame I'm carrying, I can see a piece of pale leather peeking out from under a broken beam of wood that must have belonged to the cabin that used to lean against the wall next to my nest.

"Hey Nina." I grab her attention. "Can you help me with this?" I ask her as I try to lift the beam but find that it is too heavy.

"Sure." She responds, kicking aside some broken bottles while moving over to me.

With combined forces we manage to lift the beam and I'm able to recover my bag. - Or what's left of it. Not only that it was squashed, probably breaking everything inside, I can also see a puncture gaping in the bottom of it.

"Thanks." I say to Nina once I hold the bag in my paws before she continues to look for other useful things that could still recovered.

Instead of helping her, I decide to inspect the bag and see what's inside. With the hole in the bottom of it, I can already watch as small splinters of glass fall to the ground alongside some coins.

I pick the coins back up, as they should still be of some use in our endeavors and continue to open up the bag. Its insides are telling the same story, as I pull out a scarf covered in a strange, oily and stinky substance.

'What could this have been?' I ask myself before putting it aside and proceeding to inspect the bags contents.

After pulling out more accessories all covered in the weird, sticky goo, I finally find its source.

I pull out a leaky flask that appears to be dripping the goo, when I remember what it must be. It's an old berry juice, but I can't believe that it was in there the whole time. This was bought for me a very long time ago when I came to visit Lamborgy the first time, but I never drank it as it held a high sentimental value. 'No wonder this stuff smells so bad. It must have gone bad ages ago.'

Carefully taking the flask out of the bag and bringing myself to throw what's left of it aside, I can hear the bottle shatter completely as it hits the wall.

'Shouldn't matter. - It was broken already.' I redirect my attention before continuing to inspect the bag's contents.

Not much else is left within as I finally manage to find the most important item I was still searching for: my exploration badge. I take out the emblem and begin to inspect it. With a huge dent running down the middle of it, I don't think that it's still going to work.

Carefully, I try to press the nugget and am actually able to hear it clicking. But the nugget doesn't jump back out, while the left wing starts to flicker a white light for a few moments and the right wing throws a couple of sparks on the ground before completely shutting down again.

'I'm not sure I can repair this.' I think to myself, disappointed that the emblem appears to be in an unfixable state. 'At least not with anything I would have even had the chance of finding around there. And if this thing is gone for good, then we won't be able to get out of sticky situations in the future.'

I put the badge aside on the pile of sticky clothing items. By now it's become the pile of object that might be worth salvaging and Nina must have been adding one or two accessories while I was distracted.

Not wasting any time, I proceed by emptying the remainder of the bag's contents onto the floor in front of me.

A lot of glass shards fall out of it. - Parts of the various orbs I had set aside for emergencies, but most of them were destroyed in the attack. Unlike the orbs I created myself, these were regular orbs. Being real glass balls, I only managed to find two that are only slightly damaged. One of them, a Quick Orb, is missing a small chunk on the underside while being covered in small cracks.

The other one seems to be damaged more that the first one. Missing almost half of it, I can't say for sure what type of orb it is or rather used to be. But it still appears to be in working order, as it responds to being touched by emitting a low vibration. But the part of it that is missing had the Orb's name engraved in it. - So I can only guess about the function it may or may not serve when the time comes.

I still put both of them on the pile of things that might be of use, not getting a chance to think about it any longer as Treek walks in.

"I spotted the patrol." He says while catching his breath. "It's about two minutes away. We have to get moving."

I'm quick to respond and swipe everything from the pile into my adventuring bag. And careful not to let anything fall out of the hole in the bottom, I follow Nina who has already returned to the living room where I meet up with her, Treek and the kids.

"OK. Everyone put what they found in the bags." I say, while holding open mine. Looking at Treek, I can see he also managed to find his.

In the lighting I can't tell if it's been damaged as well, but there is no time for something as unnecessary like that right now.

"Where are they coming from?" I hastily ask Treek while Cari is putting a Luminous Orb that still appears to be very much intact in my bag and Tolan is storing the squashed berries we collected earlier into Treek's.

"They're coming from the street." He whispers as a response.

"Then we'll take the route over the beach." I say as I already turn around to head to the front hatch.

On the way there I can see Nina walking next to me, causing me to stop and turn to her. "I told you to carry Cari. I'll have to carry this bag and she has a broken arm."

"Oh right! Sorry." She answers before turning around and letting Cari on her back again.

We silently head out of the broken hatch on the front of the den, as I can already start to hear voices nearing in the back. But it shouldn't matter. With all the chaos inside, nobody would be able to read our tracks and see that we came through.

We're out of the den again and I can already see the beach a bit in the distance as we manage to walk between the trees while remaining undetected. I turn back to face Treek but see Cari riding on the back of the fox. She seems to enjoy getting a ride on top of Nina, who doesn't seem to share too much of her joy, but still appears willing to go with it for the time being.

"Treek", I whisper while passing through the fauna. "Please try to cover our tracks again."

'It shouldn't be too hard for him to cover the tracks this time.' I think to myself. I can already see a lot of footprints on the ground, probably resulting from several of the soldiers that came through here during the day that has passed.

He nods and I turn back to continue heading for the beach, which only lies a couple of meters ahead of us now.

Finally reaching the tree line bordering the beach, I stop in my tracks and turn around to face the group again.

"We're going to stay at the tree line for most of the journey's remainder", I say to them. "Try not to step in the sand, as that will leave prints they could use to follow us. We're going to continue walking alongside the forest next to the beach and track all the way past Lavary, where we're going to head back into the forest and make camp north-east of the village."

After I wait for everyone to nod in understanding, I continue my explanation.

"Nina, Tolan; I want you to lead the way. I'll stay in the back with Treek."

Immediately following the plan Nina starts walking north, followed by Tolan as I take one last look at my old home with Treek waiting for me to start walking as well.

Knowing exactly where it is, I can see a faint torch light falling through the hole where a hatch used to be, before I get ahold of myself and turn away as well before heading after Tolan and Nina with Treek at my side.


	23. Camping

Treek continues to walk next to me for the duration of the whole trip. We haven't run into anyone thus far. Not even when we were at the same height as Lavary. We had to cross a small path leading from the town to the beach. Sometimes during the hotter days, you could see some of the 'mons living in town go there to have a picnic. But that is something I only saw during the first summer after I came to Zatola.

That year had a couple of very hot days. With Zatola being the northern of the nations, you'd think that there's always snow falling in its outskirts. But even this region has its warmer winters every few years, something the locals always and wrongly explain with Articuno taking a break from causing blizzards, when he in fact doesn't have anything to do with the global weather.

Right now it is winter. - And the real kind of winter, with snow falling every once in a while. But it's already nearing its end and all of the snow that still covered the land yesterday has already melted away.

It is still very cold as we continued to walk on the way to the camp site I had predetermined. Treek and I have already been discussing our next move while we were walking. I didn't want Nina to hear anything of it, as we still have to be careful with the information we give her. Because even though she appears to be trustworthy, we can't be sure that she's not randomly going to change her mind at some point.

I would have offered Treek a scarf, like I did when we were on our way to Lamborgy and everything was still nice and dandy. It already seems so long ago when he came knocking on my door, just having returned from a trip to his parents. But all the clothes I could have offered him were covered in the stinky goo from the ancient berry juice.

A thought crosses my mind, as we are only half a kilometer away from our target and I start talking to Treek again.

"Hey Treek." I begin. "I can't believe I'm only thinking of this now, but before we left I noticed that almost all of my accessories were covered in rotten berry juice."

"Yeah? What's the problem with that?" He responds.

"Dependent on who was in that patrol, they might be able to follow the stench and track us." I say with an unsure voice, obvious concern becoming noticeable.

"Well. I could say you should have thought of that earlier, but I don't think you'll have to worry about that at all. I saw the patrol and I don't think those 'mons would have the kind of nose to follow something like that."

"Just out of curiosity, who did you see?" I ask, trying to calm myself the same way Treek seems to be coping with this.

Jokingly, he begins his answer. "Well there was definitely no Nosepass among them; No. One of them was a Rhyperior and the other was an Excadrill."

Relieved, I am able to share Treek's confidence as well.

"I'll still have to find a way to clean this stuff up tomorrow." I say while continuing to scurry through my bag, taking care not to let anything fall out the hole in the bottom. "None of these will be of any use to us, if we just keep them sticky. By the way: I see you found your bag; what about its contents? Anything remaining that can be used?"

"Well..." Treek answers. "Not a lot of things. I wasn't able to check everything yet, but at first glance the bag itself isn't damaged like yours appears to be. Yet I am missing at least some of its original contents. I'm sure I still had a greeting card I was supposed to give you from my parents in there. - And that's missing. But they didn't write where they life on there, so they shouldn't be in any risk now. I'm also missing all of my money. - I still had over ten thousand poké left in there. - What a waste..."

After a short pause he continues. "But..." And shaking his bag a bit, causing it to make rumbling noises he continues. "As you can hear, there still seems to be a whole bunch of random stuff in there. So that's something."

He smiles at me, as I smile back to him before continuing to talk.

"If I have time, could you borrow me a needle and some string so I can try to repair my bag later. Also: when you have the time, could you clean up the items I salvaged?" Laughingly I continue. "You know me and water..."

"Sure. I'll clean the stuff." He answers. "But I've got bad news about my sewing supplies..."

"It's OK." I interrupt him before he can finish. "Thanks anyways."

After a short pause I signal him to stop for a moment.

"Hey Treek. Could you do me a favor and hold onto these?" I ask, while opening my bag and pulling out the broken emblem and the three Orbs we were able to recover before heading out.

"With the hole in the bottom of my bag I don't want to lose this stuff. – They might still come in handy."

"Sure." Treek answers while opening his bag to receive and store the orbs I'm handing to him away.

"Hey! Try to keep up you two." It is Cari talking, who has turned around on the back of Nina to look for us. There's about a twenty meter gap between us at this point, as me and Treek start walking faster in an attempt to catch up with them.

Out of nowhere though, Treek starts talking to me again when we are only a few meters away from the kids and Nina.

"Listen Cyder..." He begins. "I'm really sorry to have caused you to lose your home. I thought enough time had passed and I finally wanted to go have some fun with you again."

Talking to me in a very regretful voice, I try to cheer him up.

"You know my motto, dude. What's done is done. I know you definitely didn't do it in purpose; I never even thought that for a single second. You wanted to let the kids explore the world. And they definitely had fun when you showed them around town. I don't even know how much time must have passed since they had a meal as good as the one you bought us at the inn. Your intentions were pure, which is the only thing that really matters."

"I just can't help but feel like this entire thing is my fault..." He continues to moan while staring at the ground before I decide to step in.

"Hey!" I shout, causing Nina and Tolan to stop in their tracks and turn around to me.

"Sorry", I say to them. "This wasn't meant for you..."

Slightly irritated, they turn around and continue walking while I proceed to scold Treek.

"No more moaning about this, Treek." I say to him. "I don't want you to be all it's-all-my-fault about this thing. Understand? I need you to stay alert and I can't have you being distracted by regret."

Looking up from the ground and staring in my eyes, he swallows his despair and tries to put up a smile.

"Yes", He says, as I continue to try and cheer him up.

"I really mean it. This is honestly not your fault. And I want you to know that."

He gives me a nod, as I can see his fake smile slowly turning into a real one.

A while later we finally near the area I had designated as our goal. We've already been heading away from the beach and the terrain has already started to feature more hills. The northern most point of this tongue of land, with its steep cliffs falling off into the ocean would only be another hour away.

"OK." I say out loudly, gaining the attention of everyone. "This is as good a point as any. Being out in the open like this, this is not going to be a very comfortable night. We'll have to set up guard shifts. I'll take the first one and Treek will do the second. Tolan, Cari: I want you two to get some sleep. All of the anxiety must have been very tiring for you. Nina, I know you're just a kid yourself, so you can go ahead and join Tolan and Cari."

Now only facing her, while Cari gets off her back and Tolan is already looking for the most comfortable part of the forest floor while Treek is setting down his bag, I continue to only talk to her. "I know you're a dark type, so you probably don't feel too sleepy right now. But I need you to try and get some sleep in as well. Because we can't stay here for too long once the next day rolls around, or else we might not get off of this peninsula at all, once they start bringing in the big Troops."

Although nodding, she doesn't seem to listen to anything I say as she appears to be sunken deep within her own thoughts.

Now turning to Treek, who is currently regaining his breath from all walking and carrying of his bag over the whole distance, I address him.

"Treek. Don't bother getting firewood. I don't want to risk setting up a fire when we're still this close to where they'll be looking for us."

He nods and after a short pause I continue. "I know it's going to be a cold night for you, seeing that you don't have any fur. So try to sleep close Tolan and Cari. Hopefully they'll keep you warm enough so you won't get sick."

From the looks of it, Tolan has already found a comfortable spot and has closed his eyes, while Cari is carefully getting herself into a comfortable position next to him.

I follow Treek with my eyes, as he tries to find a decently comfortable position to get some sleep himself before it's his turn to keep guard.

Nina is standing a bit away from them as she looks up into the star-filled night sky, pondering over her thoughts. I walk up to her, as I didn't really expect her to just fall asleep after the day she had. She notices my arrival, but decides not to pay any attention to me.

Trying to comfort her, I begin talking with her. "I know you must have left a lot behind..." I begin, trying to get the conversation rolling.

I wasn't expecting to get anywhere too fast, as she immediately starts talking back to me.

"Do you ever look up into the sky, wondering where it is you truly belong?"

Confused over her question, I decide to give her an honest response.

"I used to before I discovered my purpose. I believe everyone has a purpose in life."

A long moment of silence passes, while I begin to think that I won't be able to get another word out of her. Yet after is passes, she finally decides to talk again.

"What do you think my purpose is?"

I hadn't thought of her as such a deep thinker before, considering how she acted up until this point. But I assume that it was probably just her way of dealing with all the anxiety this day had her dealing with.

Noticing that I too am taking very long to answer her, I decide to simply respond to the best of my knowledge.

"You'll have to find out for yourself. That is something nobody can do for you."

She looks back down from the sky and slowly sets herself down to the ground, rolling on her side and now looking at me while I look back at her.

After a while, she starts talking again. "I don't know what my true purpose is. I never had the chance to think about it before..."

A moment of me tenderly smiling in her wondering eyes passes before she continues.

"Today I was given that chance. Today... I left behind the purpose that was assigned to me at birth."

"Today..." She says after a moment. "Today I started on the path to find my own purpose."

I lie myself down next to her to be on the same eyelevel as she is, while she follows me with her eyes reflecting the moonlight.

"You won't find me trying to assign purpose to your life." I start talking again. "And I think you're finally starting to see the world with the eyes it is meant to be observed with."

I start to move closer to her, as she lets me do so. I come close enough to see nothing but her eyes before I start talking again.

"You lost a family today. But you'll come to see that you also found another one to replace it."

I move forward to give her a hug. She isn't dodging my movement and decides to let me proceed with the hug. - A hug that seems to go on for an eternity before she starts talking again.

I couldn't see her face while I was hugging her. So her voice surprises me as she starts talking to me in a voice both sad and happy.

"Thank you for giving me that chance."

The hug continues for some more time as I can feel the tears of her mixed emotions start dropping on my back. And although hugging her while lying down is uncomfortable to me, I decide not to break the hug and continue to hold her tightly until her silent crying stops and is replaced by a steady and calm breathing.

She fell asleep while I was holding her and now is resting calmly, leading me to carefully release my hold on her and stand up in order to perform the guard duties I had assigned to myself.


	24. Stuck

I had trouble staying awake during my shift. I guess that no amount of anxiety can keep you awake forever, as I get woken up by Treek telling me that it's his turn for guard duty. Not wanting to get scolded, I apologize to him immediately.

"Oh sorry. I must have fallen asleep." I whisper, not wanting to wake up the others while he gives me a look of reproach.

I walk over to where he was sleeping before and lie myself down, while listening to him grumbling on about how I should have taken more care.

I fall back asleep almost immediately. But considering I got the least amount of sleep of any of us thus far, that shouldn't come to any surprise though. But I can already see the sky getting brighter as I close my eyes again, knowing that this night isn't going to be too much longer.

I wake up immediately after. At least it feels like no time has passed since I fell asleep after getting relieved by Treek in the early morning. Looking around, I can immediately see the cause of my walking up. It is Tolan and Cari, jumping around the camp. Cari's body seems to have finally repaired the broken arm. It can be amazing how fast the body of a young 'mon is able to regenerate a broken bone when given the proper care.

I try to sit up, but fall back down as I can feel a sharp pain in my head. I haven't had a headache in ages and the one I'm feeling now is probably connected to my sleep deprivation.

"Keep quiet", I scold Tolan and Cari, causing them to stop their running and look at me with surprised eyes. It's unusual for me to tell them not to make a ruckus. But I guess I can be a bit different when I'm having a bad time.

After a short and refreshing moment of silence, during which I massage my face trying to get the sleep out of my eyes and satisfy the headache, Tolan begins talking to me. He must have already figured out that I'm not feeling too hot, as he speaks with a concerned voice.

"Are you feeling OK, Daddy?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I answer, as the headache calms down a bit, allowing me to push myself up from the ground.

We are still at the camp site I designated as our rest point the night before. I can see the sun far up in the sky, meaning that it is almost noon already. I look around and can see Nina slowly waking up as well, probably by my shouting or the clamoring of the kids. She emits a hearty yawn, followed by her straining her muscles and sitting up.

I continue to look around but can't see Treek anywhere, so I decide to ask the children.

"Tolan, Cari. Have you seen Treek?"

"Yeah", answers Cari while Tolan accepts the fact that I'm feeling fine again. "He just went looking around to find some drinking water for him and Nina."

Cari wasn't looking me into my eyes, while she said that. That's usually a clear indicator that she isn't telling the truth. - So I insist.

"Why would he be looking for water without asking Nina if she was even thirsty?"

Tolan decides to step in and come clean for him and his sister. While drawing lines into the soft forest floor, he begins speaking with a regretful voice. "OK. We may or may not have gotten hungry and ate all of the squashed Orans..."

Hunger must have been the trigger word, as my stomach decides to wake up as well and immediately informs me of its existence. But before I can say another word, I can see Nina charging at Tolan and knocking him on his back before pinning him down to the ground.

Tolan is just as surprised as I am, as I jump up and rush to his rescue while Nina decides to begin yelling.

"You ate all the food?" She shouts at Tolan before I arrive and knock her off of him, pinning her to the ground next to him.

"What do you think you're doing?" I yell back at her. "Why would you just suddenly attack my kids? Huh?"

I'm confused and can feel the anger boil up inside of me, as I muster myself and relieve some of the strength I was putting into pinning her down.

"Agh", she responds before continuing after a short pause. "Didn't you listen? They ate all the food! I don't want to go hungry."

"Why do you think that would give you the right to just attack my kids?' You think that'll get you your food back?"

She continues to struggle and I decide to let go of her, causing her to immediately jump up, turn around and look me in the eyes while giving me a very angry look as I continue.

"This might have been OK in the military, but not here. We respect each other and don't go attacking one another for the mistakes we make."

Looking away from me she continues to keep her angry stare, now looking at Tolan and Cari as they fearfully look back at her.

"Why would they deserve any better?" She asks and continues to elaborate after locking her angry expression back on my face. "You can't tell me that you would tolerate such behavior?"

I look away from her and up to the sky, where I can see the sun shining from above.

Still looking away from her, I sigh and begin to speak. "Do you remember your conditions for joining us...? You said you didn't want to get beaten for failing a task..."

I look back down at her and can see that she already understands where I'm planning to go with my statement.

"Yes, they did make a mistake." I continue. "But just like you don't want to get beaten for doing something wrong, I expect you to not beat up anyone else if they make a mistake."

Nina looks down to the ground and I know that she is ashamed of herself.

"Sorry..." She whispers before walking off a couple of meters while keeping her head down.

I turn back to Tolan and Cari, as I must not forget their scolding for eating all the food.

"Despite what just happened now; Tolan, Cari..." They look at me and I can already see the sorry written on their faces as well. "You can't just eat all of our supplies. - We're all hungry."

"I thought there would still be more than what we ate." Tolan begins to rectify his actions, as Cari continues. "We thought you had some more in your bag after we ate everything out of Treek's."

I sigh, as my stomach really doesn't like to hear something like that and I start to feel cramps in my sides. But to my luck the next rumbling of my stomach is interrupted as I can feel someone tapping on my shoulder.

I spin around, to face Treek.

"Mornin' Slowpoke", he greets me before sitting down next to me.

Nina seems to take advantage of Treek's arrival and returns to me before sitting down on my other side.

After the kids take their seats as well and we form a small circle, Treek finally reveals what he has found as he scurries through his bag and pulls out a paw full of nuts.

"I know it's not much." He introduces us to his find. "But it's early spring and this is all I managed to gather."

I frown, as nuts really aren't one of my favorite foods. But while trying to make the best of it I decide to accept Treek's offering.

"Aw nuts", Nina sighs next to me while we Tolan and Cari lean backwards, knowing that they shouldn't take anything after already having eaten the remaining berries, leaving Nina, Treek and me to each grab a nut and begin cracking.

I didn't talk much during the break first and just listened to the conversations the others had while I ate. Nina was the one to talk the most as she told the kids how I rescued her from the brutal forces of the soldiers, purposefully talking around the detail that she used to be a soldier herself.

After a while my stomach begins to settle. Even though the kids were decent enough not to claim any of the nuts, this sorry excuse for a meal won't keep the rest of us nourished for too long.

Once all of them are eaten and nobody seems to have anything else to say, I begin talking again.

"I don't want to risk us staying here for too much longer. I want to reach Kossary today; from there we should be able to escape to anywhere else. But first we'll somehow have to reach the main land. The Corasona Beach Area may be a peninsula, but none of us can allow ourselves to feel safe before we've safely reached the Otheria Coastal region."

Nina lets loose of another sigh and starts talking. "But that's so far away. And if we can't even use public roads how do you expect us to reach it?"

I turn to her and she can already read my facial expression before I have to say a single word to her.

"OK. OK. I won't hold you back. But if we don't make it, it's not my fault."

Looking away from her again, I decide to tell everyone to get ready.

"Then I hope that everyone is ready, because I want us to leave right now."

With no further objections, I get my bearings and start heading south-east, towards the tongue of land connecting Corasona with Otheria.

Not many words are spoken during the first leg of the day's trip. And only about an hour later the next sentence finally uttered. I guess I decided on proceeding with our journey a bit too hastily, since I know that we have to hurry if we don't want to get cut off from the main land. But now it is Treek speaking the first word.

"So Cyder." He begins. "When we make it out of here, where are you planning on hiding next?"

Like in the night before, Treek and I are walking further back while Nina, Tolan and Cari are walking a few meters ahead of us. Nina is still carrying Cari, but after seeing her jump around in the morning I think she would be able to walk for herself again.

I sigh, as I give him my answer. "You know I don't like having to hide. I'd much rather find a way to live in the open. I just don't want the kids to have to live in unnecessary danger. And like you know: that was the original idea with the den in Corasona. But if you have to know: right now I'm planning on finding a way of reaching the new world. I know it's very far away and that it'll take a lot time to get there. And I'd even have to find a way of convincing myself to board another ship or get across the ocean some other way in order to reach it. But there shouldn't be any way anyone would suspect me there, or be able to find me in some of its still uncharted regions."

After a short pause I continue without looking at Treek. I don't want to see his face yet, as I know that he already wants to tell me that it's a bad plan and that I shouldn't do it.

"See... With everyone still going on about who owns the place, we can easily find a new home in its outskirts. Nobody will ever find us during our lifetime and we'll be safe forever."

Breathing in deeply, I await Treek's inevitable veto. However unlike how I previously expected him to react, he isn't responding by telling me the idiocy of my plan.

"It's a good plan." He begins to my surprise. "But getting there would be extremely hard. And you'd have to overcome your fear of boats, 'cause I don't think there's any other way to get across the ocean."

Listening carefully, I nod as he continues. "But I think you're planning too far ahead again. Right now we're practically as far away from there as we could possibly be."

"I know", I answer and quickly coming to the conclusion that Treek still did tell me that we couldn't do it right now.

"I think for right now a more practical goal would be to disappear at my parent's home in Gloom Woods. Laizisso Town is so secluded that most maps don't even list it, meaning that they still have never gotten a visit from the soldiers looking for new recruits. And since Zatola and Sazari have this alliance going on, they never closed the borders. So when I crossed last week, I was simply able to walk across."

"You think your parents wouldn't mind having me at their place? After all: if the wrong 'mon finds out I'm there, their peaceful little town won't be so peaceful any more..."

"I think that's a risk they'll be willing to take. They still like you, even after the bad introduction you gave when you first met them..."

He giggles a bit, as I remember back to mess I caused back then. But I'm ripped out of my trance as Treek continues.

"But another thing is: are you sure you just want to continue hiding? I'm not saying you should get yourself captured, but it might be time to start fighting back."

"Well now you're the one thinking too big." I respond in a bored voice. "We have no way of fighting back right now. And you're forgetting about my kids again. Heck, we didn't even have enough food to feed all of our hungry mouths this morning."

"Yeah. But what do you say, we visit my parents? I'm sure they'd like to meet your kids and I know they'll be the safest they can be once we get there."

"It's a good idea. No; not only that. I agree: we will be trying to get to your family. Even though it will be a long way to get there, it's something that's much easier accomplished and safer to try and do, than having to sneak through a war zone when trying to get to the new world."

"By the way, Cyder." Treek starts speaking a moment after I finished. "When I was out searching for food this morning, I took the liberty of washing the gunk of your sticky items."

"Thanks dude", I say while checking the bag I'm carrying for the promised cleaned objects. After finding the wet lump of cloth I was promised, I close the bag again and continue talking to Treek.

"When we get to Kossary it'll be dangerous for me again. I didn't find my hat before we had to leave. So I have no way of hiding my mark." I say while pointing at my forehead.

"I know. I thought about that as well, and the only solution I could come up with would be buying you a new hat once we reach town. But see: they stole all my money when they invaded your den. So I don't really have any way of paying a tailor, if we even manage to find one that also has the required materials for crafting a fireproof hat in storage."

"Oh. If that's the only problem, I was able to find some poké before we left. It's not too much as the kids and I never really needed money always staying at home and growing everything we needed without ever having to leave. But it should be enough for a hat. And if you're good a bargaining, you might even be able to squeeze a few travel supplies out of there as well."

I open my bag again to fish out the money I had just spoken of, only to almost fall over Nina with Treek barely managing not to fall himself.

"Why are you...?" I try to ask before Treek holds my mouth shut and points forward.

In the distance I can see faint motion. - And lots of it. It seems to be stationary and isn't coming any closer. I squint my eyes and finally see what it is we're looking at. There are about a dozen different 'mons building a structure that stretches the entire width of the peninsula's arm reaching onto the main land.

They are building a fence. And I know why they are here and why they are building it. Their job is to keep an eye out for me and they are building a fence because they want to keep me from getting away.

"We're too late." I whisper with the astonishment appearing very clearly in my voice. "They've already blocked us off. Otheria lies on the other side of that wall and now we have no way of reaching it."

We are literally stuck. And while I'm frozen in place, mesmerized by the sheer effort put into stopping me, I know that this is only their first step in capturing me. There is no doubt that they are expecting reinforcements and sooner or later they'll be done with the fence and start sending troops.

I can feel someone pull on my arm. It is Treek telling me that we have to get moving again, but his words aren't really reaching me.

I can feel him dragging me backwards, but my mouth is still wide open from astonishment and I have no idea how we should proceed from here on.

Nina is as stunned as I am and I don't even have to ask if she knew anything about this. The word of me really being here must have spread fast and the government acted quickly trying to keep me where I am. I suspected them trying to setup something to keep me from leaving, but I never thought they'd go to such lengths in the effort of securing me.

There is enough distance between us and the wall to go undetected by the 'mons building it. But I'm out of ideas on how to escape as Treek continues to pull me by the shoulder back the way we came from.


	25. Dead 'mon's gift

"I know you won't like this, Cyder. But I know another way to get to Otheria."

Snapping back to my senses, I finally find myself capable of talking again. We already moved a bit and I can barely see the wall being constructed in the distance. I turn around, now walking for myself again and begin processing what Treek had just said to me.

"You... How? Why am I not going to like it?" I start talking, while getting ahold of my voice again.

"How are we ever going to get around that?" I continue wondering out loud, not giving Treek a chance to respond. "It's not like we could fly. And even if we could, they'd most definitely spot us leaving."

I pause for a moment, as Treek begins talking again. "I'd better not tell you. As I said: you wouldn't like it."

"No!" I yell, getting a feeling that I do in fact know what his plan is. "You wouldn't make me... You know I could never..."

"Cyder! Calm down." He tells me, keeping his calm. "Would you rather get yourself captured?"

I know exactly what the plan is. But I don't care how necessary it is to let him go through with his plan. A couple of years ago, when my wife and I were just starting to build our secret den, we found something. Something that Treek is now planning on using, to get all of us off of Corasona.

"Cyder! Listen to me." He continues talking to me, keeping a firm grasp on his voice. "It doesn't matter how much you're in disagreement with me about this. But you know just as well as I do, that this'll be the only chance we get of still reaching Otheria and getting to safety."

I growl angrily at him and start shouting, not caring that we might be heard. "You promised you'd never make me do it again! It's unnatural and I won't do it! I'd much rather be dead than having to go through with something like that again."

"Cyder... Why don't you calm down?" Treek asks calmly. "Here. Eat this."

Treek hands me a seed he just fished out of his bag, but I know what kind of seed it is. - It's a sleep seed. He wants me to fall asleep so he can proceed with his devilish plan.

"How stupid do you think I am?" I yell at him. "I won't eat this."

"Whatever you say." He responds before unexpectedly grabbing me around the neck and stuffing the seed down my throat.

My eyes are immediately starting to feel heavy. Treek has succeeded, but the only question on my mind is why he would go to such lengths. He knows of the dangers that such a plan mean for me, making me have such a strong opinion against it.

I try to ask him why he would do this, but already feeling my thoughts slide I instead attempt ask where he got the seeds from. "Where did you even get..." But every word I create feels harder to pronounce than the previous one and I know it'll only be seconds before I'm completely out.

Treek has successfully put me to sleep and proceeds to let go of me. I can feel my body sliding to the ground, robbing me of any control I still had over it.

'How could he?' I think to myself as I lose control and my eyes begin to close on their own.

"Don't do this..." I whisper pleadingly with my last bit of strength before the remaining muscles around my mouth go limb and I'm no longer able to communicate.

I can still hear his voice for a few moments before sub coming to the world of dreams.

"It's OK, kids." The fading voice whispers. "I'm doing this in his best interest."

"Nina, help me carry him, would you...?"

-

It is a very hot day as I walk down the road leading to Lavary. The town is still a distance away, and I know that we can't take too many stops if we want to reach it before sundown. Right now it is early morning and I can see a few Pidgeys that had landed on the gravel road we are travelling fly off as we come too close to them.

To my left I can see my lovely wife Lydia, while my best friend Treek is walking on my right. Lydia is currently pregnant and we are expecting the cubs to be born in a couple of week.

I'm wearing the new hat she bought me yesterday when we visited Kossary. We stayed there over night at an inn, because it takes a day to get from our secret den all the way to the ghost town.

I don't mind having to walk the distance though. It's a beautiful day after all and with no cloud in the sky it's the perfect weather for a fire type like me and my wife. And a grass type like Treek is sure to have a good time as well, absorbing all the sunlight he might want.

"Hey Cyder", my lovely wife interrupts the sounds of our feet shuffling across the road.

"Yes dear?" I respond to her immediately, accidentally cutting of her sentence.

"Oh, Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you." I say in apology while looking into her beautiful face smiling back at me.

"Tihi. It's OK, stupid. I was wondering if we could head off the road and check out the Davira Sea. It's such a beautiful day and I've heard that during clear weather like this you can actually see all the way down to Lamborgy and even get a look at the baron's mansion from all the way up here."

"I've got no objections honey." Turning my smiling face to Treek, I ask him as well. "Or would you have any."

Sharing our happiness, he replies. "Nope. No objections here. Let's check it out."

I turn back around to my wife, but am met with thin air. After hearing my approval she immediately dashed into the undergrowth heading for the nearby sea.

Davira Sea can be seen as a sort of lake - ocean hybrid. It opens up into the ocean on its southern end, but it surrounded on the three sides by the Otheria Coast and the Corasona Beach. Corasona is a peninsula that grabs onto the main land with an arm in the north. Right now we were walking through the forest covering the northern end of that arm, heading north-west towards Lavary.

Panting, I finally catch up to my wife as she has already reached the small beach that surrounds the Davira Sea on this side. I have no idea how someone pregnant like her is able to run this fast. Nor do I know how she managed not to get stuck on any of the trees and branches between the road and the beach.

As I meet up with her, she is looking my way and giggles over my inability to get through the thicket as effortlessly as she did.

Looking back, I can see Treek having trouble keeping up as well.

"You should have seen yourself running." She giggles at me, thereby causing me to spin back towards her.

"Was there even a single branch you didn't hit on your way?" She continues teasing me.

Catching my breath, I try to reason with her. "*huff* How are you so fast? *huff* Not even Treek can get through the woods as fast as you can. And he's a grass type. So he can cheat and move the branches aside and what not..."

She stretches her arms in the air and slightly turns to the left and right before answering "Well... That's my trade secret!" and ending her sentence by giving me a kiss on my cheek.

It always makes me feel so lighthearted when she kisses me. And this time is no different, as the first thing Treek does after finally arriving is pointing out that flames are leaking out from the underside of my hat.

I can feel my cheeks getting red, as we turn towards the sea to look at the promised view. It is truly astonishing: although very far in the distance, we can see all the way down to Lamborgy. The baron's mansion must be over thirty kilometers away from where we are right now, but we can see it clearly enough in the far off distance to make me wonder if we are just looking at a toy model of a mansion on a cliff and that every moment now, some humungous paw will reach from the sky and pick it up to put it somewhere else.

With the astonishing sight taking away our breaths, we continue to stare at it for some time, only interrupted by an odd Wingul flying through the scenery from time to time and reminding us that we are actually there.

The motionlessness is finally interrupted, as I can feel Lydia putting her arms around my neck and resting her head on my shoulders.

"Isn't this beautiful?" She whispers, as I grab for her paws with mine and begin massaging them between my fingers.

I lean my head towards her and answer in the same whisper tone that she is speaking in.

"Not as beautiful as you are."

Turning her snuggling into a fully-fledged hug, we stop staring at the scenery and turn towards each other. With our eyes closed we continue to show our love for each other, sharing a bond that neither of us wants to break, only to be interrupted a few moments later by Treek feeling left out.

"What's that?" He shouts to us from some distance.

I open my eyes again and can see him standing in my line of sight, waving me to follow while pointing off into the distance. I release my hold on the love of my life while she does the same and turns around to see what Treek is talking about.

She's still standing behind me and starts leaning on me again, as I haven't yet moved out of her way while I ask Treek what's happened.

"What is what?"

"Over there." He says while still pointing up the beach.

I can see what he is talking about now. There, off in the distance, but not too far away, I can see what appears to be a small house made out of logs. It can barely be seen as most of it is covered by a big Willow tree, letting its branches filled to the brim with leaves hang down to the ground and obscuring the view.

Having finally grabbed the attention of both me and my wife, I can feel her righting herself and stopping to lean against me.

"I don't know." I shout to Treek, who was already a few dozen meters ahead of me before now starting walking towards the building again.

I can hear a voice whispering into my ear. "Race you there", it says before cutting off with a Quilava dashing past me and across the beach, heading towards the mysterious building.

"Wait", I shout after her. "It could be dangerous." But Lydia must already be running too fast to understand the words I'm saying.

I follow her example and drop down to all fours before doing my best to keep up and heading after her, now having Treek left back in the dust as he isn't running like we are.

Obviously she arrives first while I come in second and to a full stop right next to her.

"I win!" She cheers as I can get a good look at the building.

It is definitely a house made out of logs. Though I have no idea what it is doing here in the middle of nowhere. Yesterday, on our way to Kossary, I didn't see any paths heading off of the forest road that could have lead here, meaning that this building doesn't have a direct connection to the road.

It has an empty porch in front of it that is covered by the same wooden roof as the rest of the house. An old door on the right side of the porch breaks up the plain view, but everything looks very old and unused, as I can see Spinarak webs between the logs and the logs themself have started to sprout tiny saplings of various different trees.

"You think anyone's home?" Lydia asks me, excitement and thrill present in her voice.

"I don't think so." I answer, not having any real knowledge I could share. "This place looks as deserted as deserted can be..."

Apparently understanding my response as approval to investigate, she walks onto the porch with creaking noises being heard as she starts touching the logs covering the floor.

"Be careful", I whisper to her as Treek finally catches up to us and stop at my side.

"Wow", he says. "What's this place you found?"

"I don't know." I respond to him as I can hear rattling sounds from behind me.

I spin around and see Lydia tinkering around with the lock of the door.

"It's locked", she says and knees down to be on the same eyelevel as the door's lock.

"I hope you're not thinking of going in there..." I say to her.

"Why not?" She asks in return, not even turning towards me and proceeding to press her paw up against the keyhole.

"No!" I whisper, as she turns around and gives me a questioning look. "This is breaking and entering. That's wrong!"

Instead of whispering back at me, I get my answer in regular volume. "You said it yourself: this place is deserted. So why not check out what's in there. Maybe we can find some treasure; be a bit more adventurous."

I'm getting very uncertain about where this trip is going and start to frantically look around to see if anyone might be watching.

"Argh. Could you help me with this?" I can hear the voice of my wife as I spin around to face her again. She is still sitting in front of the door but has removed her paw from the lock.

"I think my flames aren't precise enough to weaken the bolt without setting the whole place on fire."

Smitten by her charming smile, I decide to give in and do as she implies.

"OK. Fine. I'll help, but if there's trouble to be had: don't say I didn't tell you so."

Treek rolls his eyes while she moves aside and lets me have a go at the lock.

Without my body having to worry about carrying around our unborn cubs, I have much better control over my elemental core and am able to melt the metal bolt blocking the door without encountering any problems.

After a short moment I can hear the sound of the door unlocking, as I step back and proceed to open the door.

"Oh my Arceus!" My wife screams.

Treek peeks over my shoulder and after seeing what's inside he also gives his comment. "How long do you think he's already been here?"

Keeping my comment to myself, I'm only glad that my kids are still in their mother's womb and not here to see this.

Inside the log house, we are met with a rocking chair. This chair might not be too interesting, but inside of the chair we can see a skeleton of what used to be a medium sized bipedal sitting. I'm not able to identify its exact species, as nothing more than its bones remain, with everything else having to have decayed over time.

"' You think this home belonged to this 'mon?" Asks my wife.

"Probably..." Comes the response from Treek.

"Then let's check out his place", Lydia decides for us.

"W-Wait you guys." I try to stop her. "Shouldn't we let him have his peace?"

But my idea immediately gets rejected by my wife. "Look at this place! I think he had more than enough peace."

Treek doesn't wait for my response and heads after Lydia who is already looking around the cabin, as I slowly walk around the skeleton not taking my eyes of the bones.

I can hear Treek shouting from the back. "Woah! Check out this lighting system. This 'mon was pre-Luminous Orb. That would make him like nine hundred years old."

I can hear Lydia bicker back at him. "Where did you learned to count? Orbs aren't nearly that old yet!"

I finally meet up with them in what appears to be both the cabin's kitchen and bedroom.

I the corner to my left I can see a few dust piles covered in cloth that must have been his bed. On my right I can see Treek and Lydia checking out the kitchen.

"Woah", Treek says as I take a look at the surroundings. "There's a hidden door in here."

"No Treek", I respond while walking up to him. "I think that's just a regular door."

A door is in the back wall of the cabin between the kitchen and the sleeping sections. Although the door blends in quite nicely with the rest of the wooden interior, it is unlikely that it was meant to be hidden.

Ignoring the various kitchen utensils the 'mon in the front probably used for making food, Treek walks over to the door he just had ~discovered~.

"Where do you think it leads?" He asks excitedly.

"Probably outside", I respond. "Judging by the cabin's size from the outside, we shouldn't expect to see another room."

The door can be unlocked from the inside, meaning that Treek doesn't need my help to open it. So he unlocks the door, causing it to swing open and reveal what probably used to be a back yard.

Overgrown with grasses and the big Willow tree standing in the middle of it, I can be certain that the whole tree must have grown after the 'mon inside died. On the left and right I can see the remnants of a small wooden fence which he must have used to keep the ferals out of his yard.

Seeing how abandoned this place is, I know that I made the right decision when I chose a place not too far from here as the location where my kids would grow up. Far away from all the violence of the world, there would never be a chance of any harm coming to any of them. At least if you were to judge by being able to just randomly walk into century old abandoned buildings scattered all over the area.

Now, the last risk we'd have to take would be when Lydia is going to have them. I don't want to take the chances of running into complications during birth. So I have already convinced her to have the children someplace where there would be a doctor making sure that nothing goes wrong.

"Is that what I think it is?" Lydia exclaims.

Ripped back into reality, my eyes fall on something in the yard I hadn't noticed before.

Right there, next to the big Willow tree is another wooden object sitting. It is definitely not another house, or a garden shack for that matter.

I follow Treek and Lydia as they make their way through the thick grasses and overgrown flowers plastering the ground of the garden.

Probably once kept at bay by the 'mon inside, nature must have taken no time to reclaim the land. But with Treek there to help us keep the fauna at bay, we easily reach the wooden object.

It isn't as big as I thought it would be at first glance. It is still a bit bigger than me, but not as much as I thought. Lying on the ground it is definitely longer than I am, but as continue to look at it, it finally dawn me what it is as well: it is a small wooden boat.

Unlike the house it is made out of treated wood, meaning that it survived the time without beginning to sprout saplings all across.

We continue to inspect the boat, as Lydia gets an idea.

"You know what would be fun?" Not waiting for us to respond, she continues. "If we'd take this boat and go for a little joy ride."

I really don't like her idea as I've already had my share of painful encounters with water. "That would be way too dangerous. I wouldn't want to accidentally go swimming without Stormcloud around to fish me out of the pond..."

"Ah... Fiddlesticks!" Lydia interrupts me. "What could go wrong? Or are you scared of getting yourself wet, you scaredy Skitty?"

"Yes I am! And so should you." I respond, getting annoyed by her ignorance. "What if you fall in? What would become of you or the kids?"

"If it's me you're concerned with, just stop worrying. I'll be fine on my own."

"Hmpf." I sigh and finally give in to yet another stupid idea that could put us in danger.

'As if it wasn't enough for us to break into this 'mon's house...' I think to myself. 'Now we're even stealing his boat!'

But seeing how she somehow got me to agree to another one of her stupid plans, I give myself defeated and help her and Treek to heave the boat around the house, down the beach and into the water.

Actually getting it into the water wasn't an easy task. Treek did most of the work, seeing how he could actually walk into the water. But we somehow managed to get the frightening contraption afloat and are now on the waters of the Davira Sea.

The boat is constantly rocking back and forth, as I try to find my bearings and attempt to stand up. But to no avail. Not having thought of this, my wife seems to have the same problem as she clings to the railing, trying to stick her head out and get some fresh air. Us fire types have an intrinsic weakness to moving grounds. They just don't suit us too well. We don't mind walking ourselves, but we find it very hard to keep our balance when it is the ground that pushes us around.

But Treek doesn't seem to have any problems, as he happily declares himself captain of the ship, whilst also playing the part of the 'mon operating the oars the boat came equipped with.

I can feel myself getting sick and decide to try and join my wife holding her head over the railing.

After finally managing to navigate my way towards her, with more than one failed attempt having passed, I clamp my claws into the wood on her left. I can finally see her face and she appears to be enjoying it as much as I do.

"Treek!" I yell while trying to keep the break first we had in the morning from spilling out.

Stopping his whistling, he turns around and immediately sees what the problem is.

"Damn." He says. "You guys don't look so good..."

"You think so?!" I yell at him, letting some of my dizziness escape in the form of anger.

"Should we be heading back to the coast?" He asks.

"Yes..." Comes a very weak response from my wife, as she appears to have even more trouble keeping her food to herself.

After Treek finally sets course for solid ground, I take my first look at the water below.

I imagine the waves splashing against the boat are mocking me for being so weak. They are telling me that I am worthless and don't deserve their company.

They start making frightening grimaces, making me afraid of them. I want to step away from the railing, so I no longer have to look into their faces. I want to get away from them. I want it to be over as soon as possible.

My break first is tickling my throat again, as I finally lose the strength to hold it back.

The food is leaving my body through my mouth and nose. It stings horribly and I try to hold it back, but as I attempt to grab my nose I forget that I was holding onto the railing, keeping my head overboard to catch the fresh air.

The next stinging I feel is no longer concentrated to my nose, as millions of horribly painful needles are pricking every centimeter of my body, covering every nook and cranny and only worsening every moment they continue to pinch their claws into me.

I can hear weird elongated echoes in my ears, sound that appear to have no origin or destination. Weird stretches of incomprehensible songs not meant to be heard by my ears. And as I open my eyes I see millions of bubbles passing me, carrying my body weightlessly through this substance of pain.

Time passes and any feeling I still had over my body has been gone for a long time. I can see my body floating weightlessly through the empty space of the sea. But the time that begins to pass is only relative to the eye of its watcher. And finally I am nothing but that. I'm an observer; I can inspect the world in any way I want, as I continue to watch my old body floating around.

The echoes finally subside and I see something yanking me at the neck. But I don't feel anything or care too much about that, while I continue to float upwards towards my next destination and away from my former body.

Yet suddenly I lose my newfound ability of weightlessness and plummet back towards a boat, being brought back by a simple voice crying out and shouting my name.

"Cyder! Cyder wake up!" I can hear the sounds of my wife's voice yelling at me and bidding for me to return to consciousness, as I finally regain it after an eternity.

-

"Cyder. Cyder wake up. You can wake up again. We're already on the water, so no turning back for you now."

I wake up and find myself in the boat from my memories, drifting silently over the calm waters of the Davira Sea.


	26. Industrial

Nothing has changed. My vision starts to spin again, trying to cope with the steady rocking of the boat I'm in. With only a narrow tunnel of light reaching my eyes, I start calling out for the one who woke me up.

"Lydia? Lydia where are you?"

I get my answer from Treek, as he states the obvious.

"Snap out of it Cyder! Remember what's happening now."

My vision slows down its spinning a bit and I can finally start to see clearly again. While looking around I see Treek standing in front of me, while Nina is standing behind him, paddling forward with her paws.

It all starts to come back to me. We're on the run from the government and should currently be crossing the Davira Sea. Treek put me to sleep to get me on board, as I would have never agreed to set another foot into one of these sick contraptions.

"Ah!" I yell, finally realizing that it's happening all over again. I really don't want to be on a boat and immediately try to find an escape route.

"Get me out of here!" I yell, while jumping up and clamping my claws into the railing.

I continue to frantically search for the nearest land visible while doing my best to ignore the angry fluids snarling at me from below, but quickly learn that Treek wasn't lying when he said that we are already in the middle of the waters.

It is dusk and the sea is covered with thick fog. Nobody will be able to see our tub floating across. And while we're safe from the soldiers, there is a much more dangerous terrain surrounding me from all sides, not giving the tiniest bit of relieve to my frightened mind.

Treek doesn't seem to share my worries as I fearfully jump away from the railing and the evilly grinning waters, to huddle into a tiny pile of misery near the center of the boat.

"Calm down Cyder." He says, trying to reassure me that this is a good idea.

I cover my eyes and try to forget everything that is happening around me. But closing my eyes is a very bad idea, as doing so amplifies all my other senses and my brain starts focusing on the rocking of the boat again. It feels horrible and I start losing my sense of where up is. But remembering that I am not the only fire type in this tub, I manage to distract my brain by thinking about my kids.

After immediately jumping up to search for Tolan and Cari, my search doesn't take too long and my worried eyes are able to find them huddled together less than a meter away from me and towards the front of the boat. They don't seem to be taking the shaking of the waves much better than I am. - Though they don't appear to be freaking out about it like I am.

Treek seems to notice my intentions and continues to reassure to me.

"Just try to remain calm." His voice manages to reach my ears. "They're fine, just like we're all going to be when we reach solid ground. But if you flip out, you're just going to make everything worse for all of us."

I fall back down into a lump and press my paws against my head, trying to get a hold on the spinning world as a second Treek and a second ghost ship have a ballet with their real counterparts.

Pressing my paws on my eyes lids and tightly holding them shut, my body decides to start shaking uncontrollably.

"Cyder." Treek grabs my attention again. "Control your breathing." He advises me. "Remember? All you've got to do is control your breathing and everything will start to become clear again."

I try to follow his advice and begin to do so while he dictates the frequency.

"Now breathe in..." He says, as I do as he says and take a deep breath.

"And out..." He continues after a short pause of me holding onto the fresh air.

"And in again..." I already start feeling it working, as I take in another deep breath.

But that is when it stops working. My lungs start to burn and I begin coughing. There must be something in the air that my body doesn't like. And although my shaking has subsided I have a different problem now, as I release my paws from my eye lids, letting them spring open and reveal the root of the problem.

I've already noticed it when I had opened them before: because of the time of day and year, there is a thick layer of fog covering the sea. I was breathing in pillows of water vapor, bent of extinguishing my ember and relentless in their determination to do so. Nature really didn't design my kind for the waters and sometimes I swear that it did so on purpose just to anger me.

My lungs finally decide that coughing isn't going to help them before stopping their requests for me to do so, as I roll on my side and begin watching the small sparks from my weakened ember flying out whenever I let another lung full of the wretched air escape my body.

My vision has finally stopped spinning around itself and I can see Tolan shakily standing in front of me. He has his legs spread far apart in an attempt to get a better grasp on the moving floor of the boat. Since he is younger and small than I am, he doesn't have as much trouble keeping his balance as I have. But he still isn't going to be able to remain like this for a longer period of time.

He starts trying to talk, but is obviously having trouble formulating the words. I can see his mouth open and close without any words being produced, while I continue to exhale the small sparks of my weakened flame.

He attempts communication a few more times, but his efforts continue to fail and he stops before plummeting towards me, clinging onto my neck and cuddling himself tightly against my fur.

I watch him while he does so and the distraction proves successful, as I was able to forget about being inside of a boat for a few moments.

Comfortably pressed against my body I wrap my arm around him and stop both of our shaking, holding him tightly and keeping him from skidding away from me. And remembering that I have two kids, I look up to see Cari following in Tolan's steps while attempting to get ahold of me as well.

She is successful and I'm now holding both of them in my grasp, using their presence to distract me from the uncomfortable boat ride I have to endure together with them.

Treek seems to approve of my new distractions, as he returns to Nina to help her steer the boat and get us to where we need to be. They have to use their paws to get us moving forward, because we lost the oars when Lydia tried to safe me out of the water. In her very much appropriate panic, she threw everything she could find into the water after I fell in, until she actually threw Treek overboard, who finally dragged my unconsciousness and dying body back into the boat.

When I finally woke up, we were already out of the water and the day was almost over. They brought me back to the cabin of the dead 'mon and put me to rest in the dust pile that used to be his bed. The fireplace was lit and Treek told me that it took over five hours before I finally started to regain my consciousness, with not a single second having passed during which Lydia hadn't attempted to wake me up.

She was at my side the whole time trying to reach me, desperate and afraid to lose her husband with Treek equally as terrified to lose his best friend.

Lydia learned from the adventure that she should listen to me more often and not just do whatever she thought would be fun. So one of the first things she did after reaching me was to take the rest of the evening off to tell me how sorry she felt for not having taken heed of my disapproval. So we didn't manage to reach our den that day but instead spend the night at the cabin. And when the next morning rolled around, I was awoken to the best apology break first I've ever had in my life.

Shaking away the memories, I start to lend my full attention to my kids firmly pressed against my fur. I stop hearing the noise of the waves angrily rolling against the wood only a few centimeters away from me, while distracting myself by listening for the steady heartbeats of Tolan and Cari. I stop to think about the water's fierce growling and that it surrounds me from all sides, while managing to only think about the ones that are with me. Because I am here with the only thing that matters anymore: my kids.

With the combination of their presence and my sleep deprivation I must have fallen asleep, because the next time I hear a voice calling out to me, it is Treek's telling me that we just arrived on solid ground.

My body immediately confirms his statement as the floor is no longer shaking, the fact of it immediately filling me with thrill. A big smile starts spreading over my face and I want to jump up to joyously greet the ground with my cheers, but a moment before I start doing so I remember that we're still not completely out of the woods. Although I have no idea where exactly we boarded, I can be certain that the fence we just bypassed can't be too far away from here.

It is still a bit foggy and my lungs don't seem to approve the fact, but I finally start getting my bearings and exit the boat. While helping Tolan and Cari get out of the death contraption, I turn around to see Treek and Nina looking at me, expecting me to say something.

But instead I look around and check out the terrain. We laid anchor on one of the steep cliff that the Otheria Coast region is known for. Behind me is the Davira Sea we just crossed, which is still covered in the thick clouds of fog I've encountered before, and I can see the blurry outlines of the moon standing high up in the sky. Nina and Treek must have waited for Night to fall before daring to set out.

With the season of solid water ending, the surface of Davira is always covered with fog at this time of the year. But now we finally made it out of Corasona, leaving behind everything of the life I build for my family, alongside the soldiers that destroyed it and are still searching for me.

Nobody says a word, as I finally look at Treek and Nina to comply with their demand for a statement.

"Yeah... yeah... yeah..." I begin while rolling my eyes. "We made it out and we didn't even sink and it's all thanks to you..."

I want to continue talking in the irritated voice, but am not able to find the correct words. Because in some twisted way there is a part of me that is thankful of Treek's actions. And while I could never get myself to admit to that part of my personality, Treek understands what I want to say and simply gives me a nod before changing the subject and starting to state the next part of the plan.

"You probably don't exactly know where we are right now." He begins, still addressing me instead of the group. "But Kossary should only be two kilometers away from here. With the fog from the lake and the time of the day, we should have no problem finding our way there without being detected. - I know of an old, abandoned factory with a hole in its fence that we can use for hiding the rest of the night. And getting there from here shouldn't be too hard, as it's located in the city's outer ring."

With me usually being the one stating the plan while everyone else just nods in agreement, I'm playing the role of just nodding my head as Treek takes the lead and turns around before starting to head towards his destination.

We leave behind the dead 'mon's boat and get on our way. It's still partially in the water, while most of it is resting on the solid ground consisting of the big rocks that have broken off of the sharp cliff lining the sea.

Heading south we walk over the rough terrain for a while before finally managing to find a portion of the cliff we can climb up at. It is still very steep and barely shallow enough for me to find ahold in the ground, as I crawl up and lend a paw to Tolan and Cari, trying to help them get up as well.

Treek is a natural climber and has no problem overcoming the obstacle, even managing to help Nina get up before we regroup at the level ground on top of the cliff.

"It shouldn't be far now..." Treek says, addressing the group as a whole.

"Kossary should be that way." He elaborates after a moment while pointing towards the inland.

We simply nod in approval and head after him as he starts walking a moment later after not receiving any objections.

He continues to lead the way and I begin to regain my understanding of where exactly are right now. We must be north-west of Kossary, heading south-east. And although I don't know the exact abandoned industrial building Treek is leading us to, I can't blame myself for not knowing, considering I hadn't been to Kossary in ages and its industrial district is full of buildings fitting that description, while the last time Treek must have been here was less than a week ago.

When he came back from his parents, he must have come through Kossary and probably spotted the shelter he is leading us to.

Kossary used to be the thriving industrial city in all of northern Zatola. Everything was produced there and the town was the place where I got most of my supplies for building the den and doing my research when I still had the time to do so. With the amount of merchants and retailers, it was fairly easy to get my paws on even the most obscure things I could think of without raising any suspicions. And while the town was already much degraded then, I can't imagine how abandoned it must be nowadays.

Back then, I could simply pose as someone owning one of the factories and buy supplies under the pretense of looking for materials or wanting to try out something new in the fabrication process of whatever I was telling them my profession to be.

The journey continues and everyone trots after Treek in an orderly fashion without speaking a word, as to not alert anyone hiding in the darkness to our presence. With the amount of 'mons we saw working on the fence to keep me in Corasona, there could very well be one of them just randomly walking around the woods; even at this time of day.

I start wondering about what kind of factory it is that Treek is leading us to, before I get interrupted by the sight of Kossary finally coming into view, alongside the anxiety and thrill of actually having overcome our journey's first portion.

'We made it!' I think to myself, not daring to actually utter to words.

When in public, I usually never speak because some 'mons might be able to identify me with my voice. Because there is technology floating around to record voices. A rare, natural rock formation called a Frism is being found from time to time. And although extremely rare, 'mons have gathered enough of them for almost every town having at least one 'mon owning a Frism living in it.

But the problem is that in my foolishness I allowed the government to make a recording of my voice a long time ago, meaning that anyone might know it and identify me by now.

Luckily though, I just look like every other Quilava you might see. – Aside of the mark on my forehead of course, which I hide by usually wearing a hat in public. And the subtle differences actually make me different can only be spotted by another Quilava, one of the few species not allowed in the military of Zatola for obvious reasons.

I can only imagine the hilarity of the military constantly capturing their own soldiers, thinking it was me they are getting their paws on. And even more though: it would give me a great opportunity to hide among their forces. But there is no reason to speculate, since sadly they are smart enough not to do it.

We enter the town's industrial sector and immediately find ourselves in a small back alley. Everything is shrouded in shadows as I can see smashed windows lining the walls of the buildings surrounding us. Almost everything is made out of metal and bricks here: the buildings use metal beams to support the weight of their enormous roofs, filling the gaps in their walls with rundown bricks. When the town was originally built, no expenses were spared in its architecture, but nowadays it's a historical ghost town only being a display to the wealth and prosperity that once encumbered the entire world.

The tiny path we are walking is surrounded by rusty chain link fences, failing to keep the wilderness from spreading into the courts of the industrial looking buildings they are surrounding.

The fog from the lake is nowhere to be seen and the air is clear, causing me no more pain when breathing it. Quickly checking on the kids they don't appear to be in discomfort any more either, but are too distracted by the sight of the buildings to notice my look. They haven't seen any of the wonders this world has to offer, not just because most of them are no longer what they used to be, but because I always kept them out of harm's way in our cozy little den.

We pass by a particularly overgrown courtyard of what I think used to be an orb factory. On the other side of the fence surrounding it, I can see two huge bay doors opening up into the main factory building. Both inside and outside I see various carts on rails lining the floor, while the miniscule amounts of the moonlight falling through some smashed windows high up in the walls fail to light up anything at all.

"This is the one." Treek interrupts the silence while pointing at the factory I've already been inspecting.

"We'll be able to hide in there until tomorrow." He says, as he moves aside a couple of branches covering a gap in the fence.

Holding open the passage he signals us to go through, which we do one by one. The first one to head through is Tolan, followed by Cari and Nina, before I join them on the other side myself.

The next one to go through is Treek, who continues by commanding the plants to cover up the gap again after reaching the other side.

"Who's there!?" An unexpected voice thunders through the air.

Startled I look around and can see a light walking towards us, only a few meters further down the path we were walking before.

Filled with anxiety, I hastily look around in an attempt to search for a hiding spot. To my luck I immediately manage to find one, as my eyes fall on one the carts standing outside in the yard.

With the light coming closer and closer towards us, I waste no time and signal everyone to follow me. And only a moment later we arrive at the cart and duck behind it.

Cari arrives last, as she has to walk on two legs with her right arm still having the brace strapped to it. But she manages to arrive just in time as well, when we can hear the voice thundering again.

"I know you're here. Come out and show yourself!"

Frozen solid, I can no longer hear any of the footsteps I heard before. But after a while they return louder than before as we can hear large claws scurrying across the gravel ground next to the fence we slipped through only a moment ago.

I can hear the sound of a metal gate in the fence screeching before the sound of the footsteps changes, removing the crunching sound of the gravel rolling over the ground and replacing it with the smooth sound of them sweeping across the paved floor of the factory courtyard we are in.

"This is your last chance to come out!" The voice thunders anew.

I can see a light around the corner of the cart and feel as Tolan and Cari tightly press themselves against my leg, shaking and having troubles to keep their breathing from revealing our location, while an equally as terrified Nina is holding onto Treek. I look Treek into his eyes, trying to ask him about what we should do, almost ready to come out and show myself as I can hear the voice talking again.

"Hrmpf..." It shouts, this time talking in a grumpy and annoyed voice. "Probably just another Rattata."

The light starts getting darker and the sound of feet shuffling across the ground can be heard once again, while we continue to remain frozen, holding onto each other in pure, unadulterated fear.

No more footsteps can be heard after a while and the light is nowhere to be seen any more, while we continue to press against each other in fear, not daring to be the first to risk lowering their guard, waiting for anyone else to do it for them.

A few more moments of the silence pass and the anxiety drops, before I take the initiative and begin whispering to Treek.

"Why would there be a guard for this place?" I ask him. "What would be here that'd need guarding?"

Realizing that I had just talked to him, he, alongside everyone else returns to his senses and responds to me.

"I... I don't know." He states, shrugging his shoulders and being just as confused as I am. "But I don't think that 'mon was a guard. I think the more likely case is that they are already suspecting you're no longer in Corasona."

'Treek is probably right.' I think to myself, considering the thought and letting its repercussions cross my mind for a few moments before getting up. Tolan and Cari notice my movement, and already sharing mine and Treek's relieve of the imminent threat gone they let go of me.

Nina lets go of Treek a moment later as well and we continue to head into the building, hoping to find the comfort and rest we came here looking for in the first place.

"We should still be pretty safe in there for the time being." I whisper to the team as we enter the factory building.

After looking around, I start wondering what they used to produce here. I can see the various empty carts standing around, which probably used to carry various kinds of materials for all sorts of products and not just Orbs as my first deduction of the place concluded. I can see various machines standing around with notches for Orbs that would have been used to power them.

"What do you think they produced in a place like this?" I can hear Tolan carefully asking the question on everyone's mind.

Treek as our resident expert on the factory feels addressed and tries to answer the question. "I don't really know... I just passed this place the other day when I came back from the visit to my parents. The only reason it grabbed my attention at all was the hole in the fence, but I didn't go around town asking everyone what this place used to be..."

I follow Treek with my eyes through the darkness as he inspects some of the machinery standing around.

Knowing that Tolan is not satisfied with the answer given to him, I feel obligated to expand on Treek's statement. - And so I begin speaking, trying to satisfy his curiosity. "From what I gathered, I think this used to be an Orb factory. - At least Orbs were one of the things that used to be produced here."

While I look around the hall, glancing over the barely visible outlines of many different machines, Tolan is still directing his attention towards me as I continue to explain.

"Can you see those molds over there?" I ask him. "Those were used to forming the spheres."

After another short pause I continue while pointing at the machine Treek is standing next to. "And that over there was used to infuse them with energy while they were still hot."

Now looking at Treek, I notice his facial expression changing from excited and happy to have reached this hiding place, to an afraid and surprised look.

But I don't have to ask what the reason for his change of mood is, as he starts talking immediately. "Not to say you're wrong, but I think this place is used for something different nowadays. Something that would also explain the guard we saw..."

Nina and Cari turn towards him as well, looking as he stands next to the machine I previously identified as an Orb Infuser.

After noticing everyone's attention, he looks back inside of the machine and continues to whisper. "This is a weapon's factory. They're making weapons and infuse them with Orb energy, probably later to be transported to the front lines. This place isn't abandoned at all."

"How can a place looking as abandoned as this still be in use?" I ask Treek. "I mean look at all the dust..."

To which he responds with a sad tone. "I think that's just a front for any potential spy. I mean look at these molds."

Pointing at the machine, I take a peek inside as well and can see what Treek is talking about. No dust can be seen whatsoever and instead of being equipped with a mold for an orb, it's equipped with a weapon's cast. And even though the device isn't warm to the touch, I can be quite certain that the last time it has been used was quite recently, thus causing me to agree with Treek's assessment as he continues to talk to the others.

"They probably don't want anyone to figure out where they're producing their weapons. So they hide their production behind the facade of a broken industrial building..."

'I wish I could do something about these weapons.' I think to myself, considering Treek's assessment. 'But we can't do anything because the guard would have to take the blame if the Orb Infuser was broken and we'd just be increasing the risk we're already taking by just being here. Even if we managed to destroy the machine, the city, despite its massive size, wouldn't be a safe resting spot anymore...'

My thoughts are interrupted as Treek continues to talk after a short pause, now only addressing me. "Cyder: Unless you want to destroy their production, we have to get out of here right now before the guard returns or anyone else comes by."

With a heavy heart I shake my head and follow Treek shortly after, as we start finding our way out of the factory hall with nobody raising any objections for already departing or leaving behind the machine.

'This is another one of them good news - bad news situations.' I think to myself, considering the conclusions of our find while we silently creep out of the building through its wide open main entrance. 'On one paw, we can probably assume that they're not expecting me to have reached Kossary. But on the other paw we don't know whether anyone we meet can or cannot be trusted, when anyone could be part of this weapons conspiracy.'

We leave the building just like we came. Only this time we don't run into another over enthusiastic guard and are able to make a clean escape before finding ourselves back on the same alley surrounded by shrubbery behind chain link fences that we entered the town on in the first place.


	27. Refuge

I don't want to risk being detected after we managed to get here without anyone expecting us to have been able to. So as we sneak out of the factory, taking care not to leave behind a trail that could be followed, Treek advises everyone to keep quite before we find ourselves back on the street.

Nobody says a word while we silently sneak back through the shrubbery covering the hole in the fence, while Treek holds back the plants once more and allows us to pass.

As I pass by him, he whispers me that he didn't have any knowledge of some weapons conspiracy involving the abandoned factory building he had planned for us to stay in.

I nod to him in understanding before I head through the hole as well and find myself with the others back on the road.

Treek follows immediately after and carefully covers it up before we start heading away from the factory building.

I stay in the back and hope that not all of the abandoned buildings are secretly still in use, as that would kind of ruin the whole idea of using them as a temporary hideout until we can get reequipped and start heading towards Gloom Woods.

We pass by some more of the buildings and empty, overgrown courtyards. I don't care enough to keep count of how many buildings we are passing as I continue to follow Treek, who seems to have some sort of idea of where we are going. Some of the buildings don't look too out of shape, with a few windows still intact and sturdy looking walls. But I'm not seeing a single one that still looks like it would be in use. – Yet as I just learned: I shouldn't judge any of the buildings in the industrial district by their exterior.

After a while of walking, Treek stops in his tracks again. No sound can be heard for a moment after me, Nina and Tolan stop walking, before he turns around to face us while pointing at the building we are standing next to.

The building he is pointing towards looks much smaller than the factory we had visited before. If it hadn't been for Treek, I wouldn't have even noticed it. Unlike the other buildings we passed in the meantime, this one isn't surrounded by a fence, most likely because of the fact that it doesn't even have a courtyard.

I can see a sign on the ground next to the door. It probably used to be attached to the wall, but I can't read what it says as the sign has fallen top-side down.

"Let's try hiding in there." Treek whispers to us before walking up to the door.

I hadn't noticed that the door is opened a little bit, but Treek probably did, leading to him choosing this building as our new hideout.

With me at the front of the group again and Nina alongside the kids directly behind me, I follow closely after Treek as he walks up to the door and carefully opens it further.

A faint squeak can be heard, but nothing too loud to cause any concerns about someone other than us having heard it. But not wanting to tempt fate any further, Treek decides that the small gap he just created should be enough for all of us to fit through.

I'm first to follow after him. And even though I'm having troubles fitting between the small gab of the door and its frame, I manage to slide through without bumping into the door and causing it to open further. As I pass through the door I feel a short stinging on my forehead, but before I'm able to reach my forehead, it subsides and I continue to squeeze through the door.

'Probably just some dirt falling off the door frame...' I think to myself before finding myself on the inside.

From in here the building appears even smaller than from the outside. Even though I can stand upright, I find myself surrounded by a huge collection of dust covered old machinery, filling all the space except for a narrow path winding to the left and into the darkness.

It is very dark and I can't tell what the devices are just yet, as I turn around and watch Tolan helping his sister get through the gap, while Nina patiently stands behind them and waits.

Cari doesn't really require his help anymore and even rejects it after noticing that I'm looking at her, before managing to squeeze through the door on her own, immediately to be followed by her brother and Nina who gracefully leaps through the gap while showing off her agility.

After everyone has entered the building, I carefully close the door behind us with the intention of allowing us to start talking to each other again.

The door doesn't produce another squeaking sound; not even the faintest. And after I close it as far as I dare without accidentally locking it and trapping us inside, we find ourselves in absolute darkness. I didn't notice before, but the building doesn't appear to have any windows, meaning that the room we are in must have originally been designed to be lit by Luminous Orbs or possibly even candles, depending on how old the building is.

Seeing how we are standing within the pitch black darkness filling the room, I finally ignite a flame in my paw and allow us to take a look at our surroundings.

I was correct with my previous assessment of the room being very cramped and filled to the brim with old machinery. Almost all the machines appear to be made out of wood and look old enough to pass as the devices used by Kossary's first settlers. I can see a couple of looms, with some of them still having cloth attached. In another corner a pile of buckets can be noticed, while I can observe an overflowing tool rack full of rusty old tools on the wall next to them.

The ground must have originally been paved with cobblestone, but masses of dirt and dust that have been collecting themselves over time cover everything, leading to them forming a sort of second floor.

I start moving around to look at all the different objects lying around, taking care not to set anything on fire while hoping to find something that may be of use to us, because if there is something useful, I would be up to us to just take it.

But the fact that all of these things must have been lying around out in the open probably means that anything that's worth something would have been stolen a long time ago.

Carefully walking down the narrow corridor surrounded by all the different objects lining it, we head further into the building while hoping that it might get more spacious at some point and allow us to lie down without risking to roll into some rusty blades, or be covered by a pile of wooden furniture while alarming anyone who might be in the area to our presence.

The others follow closely after me as I lead the group before my eyes fall on an ancient looking chest. It stands against a wall in front of us and came into view after we turned the first corner of the winding path.

More interestingly though, there is enough free space in front of the chest for us to actually sit down and use as our resting spot.

After reaching it, I turn around to face Treek and others again.

"This should be good enough for a resting spot." I start talking with a voice not too loud, barely above the limit of what would be considered whispering.

"Hoping this place is really abandoned, which we can pretty much assume from the heaps of ancient garbage in here, I guess we can call this our resting spot for the night."

Nina immediately begins talking. "Ahh..." She says satisfied before letting herself go limb while leaning her flank against the chest in front of me. "I'm totally done for today..."

She closes her eyes and although I can't be sure she's already sleeping, she sure makes it look like she is.

"I call top." Tolan says before jumping on top of the chest and rolling up into a more comfortable position while getting all getting all the dust that had previously been covering stuck in his fur.

"Hey. No fair." Cari argues while Tolan is definitely just acting asleep and ignores the bickering from his sister while trying to suppress a sneeze.

"It shouldn't matter." I say to her as she looks with her exhausted eyes. "Just try to get some sleep. This'll only be for one night."

"Ugh." She moans before rolling up on in the dust on the floor in front of the chest and next to Nina.

Treek has been waiting for me to finish coordinating and assigning sleeping locations, while standing next to me in order to discuss our plans for the morning.

After Cari is done finding a comfortable position on the hard and dirty floor, my eyes fall on Tolan who appears to really be asleep at this point, instead of just acting like he was a moment ago. I put down my bag next to Treek's, who must have already set his down before and turn to face him, gesturing him to follow me a bit further down the path leading through the towers of objects filling the building.

We walk a few meters before turning another corner where I stop and wait for him. The path still goes on and I can already see the next corner a few meters ahead. The section of the storage house I'm now standing in lies on the other side of the wall the chest is leaning against and is filled to the brim with overflowing bookshelves. Some of the shelves have collapsed, spilling their contents over the floor or having their weight supported by the shelf below. The books are all covered in the same dirt and dust we can find everywhere in the building, but I can still make out some of their titles.

They seem to cover many different subjects and don't appear to be sorted in any way. And with titles ranging from ~Your Elemental Core & You: Water Edition~ to ~1001 Berry Recipes~ there doesn't seem to be anything I shouldn't be expecting to see next.

But I'm not planning on exploring these books or this place, and as Treek follows me around the corner I turn to face him and start talking, only to be immediately interrupted by him.

"Sorry for before. I know how much you're afraid of water. And I know I promised that I'd stand by your side if someone would ever try to make you get on a boat again. I'm sorry I put you to sleep, but if it reassures you: I don't have any more seeds of any kind."

I raise my paw and open my mouth while be talks, signaling that I actually wanted to start while thinking that Treek should have saved the seed for a more appropriate occasion.

But Treek ignores my request and continues to apologize to me. "And I didn't have any idea that the military was secretly producing weapons here in Kossary."

Finally getting the opportunity to respond, I quickly take it and start talking. "Don't bother saying sorry. It all worked out at this point, and what's done is done. I can also imagine how surprised you were to find out about the weapons. But I just want to say that that's just a theory. It's probably the only theory that would make any sense and we should continue to act upon it, but there are a lot of consequences resulting from it."

After a short pause I'm able to keep talking. "First of: it would explain why the military was so quick to show up at my doorstep. It also explains how they were able to come up with all those workers that were building the fence in addition to the military they moved into Corasona."

Collecting my thoughts, I take another pause before I proceed talking. "The second thing we can assume is that most of the military that would normally roam this city is probably over in Corasona right now; meaning that it's less likely for us to accidentally run into any of them."

Treek tries to interrupt me, but I am faster than him and continue talking. "But... we pretty much know for sure that not all of them are gone. At least that guard 'mon we saw earlier must have been military, or at the very least be paid by them to keep an eye out on their secret weapons production."

I end my sentence and stop talking, finally allowing Treek to speak again.

"That probably means pretty much no one of us will be able to go out into the city tomorrow and buy new supplies. I was actually hoping to check if another train we could have used to get out on is scheduled to leave town anytime soon."

After Treek finishes talking, a plan starts forming in my head.

"You're forgetting one thing here. We've got a new member..."

I pause mid-sentence, given Treek the opportunity to figure out what my plan in on his own.

"Huh?... Oh! Yeah, of course. Nina could just turn into someone and go into town to buy the supplies." He explains, already understanding the basis my plan.

I continue to elaborate, as it sadly isn't that simple once one starts to think about it a bit more.

"That's the gist of it. Sadly though, it won't be that simple when you consider that Nina isn't too fit when it comes to her disguises. - I don't know if you noticed it back then, but when she turned into that Raticate she forgot the tail and one of the ears. So we'd have to help her fix her disguise, unless there's a mirror around here somewhere."

After thinking for a moment, I continue with the next problem. "Another problem would be our money. From what I understand, you didn't manage to recover the poké you had on yourself when we returned from Lamborgy. I'm not quite sure exactly how much I recovered, but I didn't have too much to begin with either."

After a moment, I continue speaking before starting to head back to the others.

"Wait here for a moment. I'm going to go grab my bag of money so we can check how much we've got."

Treek does as I say, while I leave him standing in the dark around the corner and head back towards the chest I designated as our camp for the night.

As soon as I turn around the corner, I reduced the strength of my flame in order to not accidentally wake up Nina or the kids as I can see them peacefully resting while I sneak up and grab my bag.

'I'm just going to take the whole thing and bring it back to Treek.' I decide. 'That way I won't be taking any risks of waking them up.'

After grabbing the bag, careful not to make too much noise and wake anybody up, I make my way back towards Treek and can see him peeking around the corner, monitoring my progress while I carry the bag towards him.

As I approach him, he returns to the other side of the corner before I turn it as well and we find ourselves in front of the bookshelves again.

I set down the bag and proceed to look for the pouch.

Some time passes, while I continue to look through my bag. After being crushed, some of the pockets were ripped open, spilling all of their contents into every corner of the main portion. I'm careful to avoid cutting myself on some of the glass shards still lining its bottom, but am not able to find the pouch with my coins.

The bag still has a gaping hole in the bottom from when it was ripped open during the chaos that ensued after my sand trap killed one of the invaders, and I start worrying that I might have lost it.

After some more time passes the disappointment from not finding the coins spreads, as they doesn't appear to be anywhere within the bag.

"Damn..." I interrupt the silence after a while. "I must have lost them at some point... and with this huge hole in the bottom, it's no wonder they went missing."

Treek seems to share my disappointment and responds with a sad voice. "So much for our plan of using Nina to buy new supplies... How are we ever going to get our paws on some food and especially a new hat for you?"

I'm as clueless as Treek and stop searching thorough the bag while trying to cheer myself up. "I don't think it would have even been enough to buy everything we need. Judging from the prices at Azura-Inn, I assume that prices in general have gone up a lot during the years I was hiding in my den, presumably because of the war cutting off trade routes."

Although not explicitly directed at him, Treek still responds. "But above all else, we have to find a new hat for you. Because there's no way we're going to remain undetected in the long run if everyone can see you're mark."

As Treek finishes his sentence, I look around our surroundings once more. Unlike the section where Tolan, Cari and Nina are sleeping, the section where Treek and I are in right now has a high up ceiling and a floor parquetted with wooden boards. Looking up I can still see the ceiling, as the light of my flame is reflecting back into my eyes. Wooden beams run across from one side to the other, sustaining the weight of an angled roof made out of brick shingles that covers the building.

There appears to be a second floor with a balcony overlooking the floor below. It's guarded by a handrail also made out of wood, but I quickly look down again as I start getting the urge to sneeze from looking up.

Suppressing the sneeze as to not wake up the kids, I turn back to Treek who is still patiently waiting for the next thing I'm going to say.

I still think for a moment before I finally feel confident enough to formulate a new plan.

"We can't buy anything and we can't risk making Nina steel the stuff either. She won't be able to defend herself in case of an attack and by being a traitor herself, she would have to risk being captured and probably executed for escaping the dungeon."

After a moment I continue. "It would have been hard enough to convince her to do our shopping if we'd actually still had the money."

Scratching my chin for a moment, I proceed in my explanation. "But I don't think the situation is as hopeless as it might appear. With this town being used to secretly produce weapons and the fact that the military is probably already on its way to get more soldiers up here, we can probably assume that we are going to get more than one opportunity of escaping on one of the trains returning south."

Treek seems satisfied with my arguments and I can hear him starting to talk with a more relaxed voice.

"I guess you're right... You know. I guess it'd need a lot of luck, but maybe we could even find a new hat for you in-between some of the junk in here."

Though laughing while he says it, I take him serious just a bit because he might be onto something.

"I'd be very surprised if we managed to find a fireproof hat in here. I'd be surprised if there's even another one premade in this entire region." After a short pause I continue. "But looking at all this stuff, we might find a new bag or a needle and some string so I can fix my current one." While speaking I pick up my bag still sitting next to me and point towards the gaping hole in the bottom that's probably been responsible for me losing all the money we had.

"' You have any idea where to look?" Treek asks as I awkwardly swing the bag around my neck in a way that should prevent more things from falling out. When I was looking for my poké, I was at least able to confirm that I still had all the accessories that Treek had cleaned for me.

"I know as much as you do about this place." I say to him, as I look upwards and see the light of my flame reflecting from two hollow eyes shrouded in a cloud of black smoke staring back at me. The eyes and the cloud of smoke appear to be floating in midair, whilst leaning over the balcony on the second floor overlooking us.

Shocked, I let go of the bag I so carefully hung around my neck before and spin around to Treek as he doesn't seem to notice what I just saw.

With shock written all over my face my jaw drops open and I look up again, this time with Treek following my eyes, only to see nothing special.

Where I previously saw the empty eyes staring at me, I now only see the wooden railing, still covered in dust like everything else in this place.

"I... There was..." I begin stuttering as Treek tries to calm be down.

"Dude. What did you see?"

I don't even feel my flame extinguishing, as I try to describe what I've just seen to him, but still filled to the brim with anxiety I don't manage to formulate whole sentences.

"There was... Eyes and smoke... I... It was just there." I say while pointing upwards towards the still empty and dust covered railing.

Calming down a little, I finally manage to describe what I had just seen.

"There was some kind of shadow staring at me. I saw it, but now it's gone."

The memory of what I've seen starts fading, as I quickly try to describe the rest I remember. "I looked a bit familiar, but I couldn't tell you where or when I saw it before."

Treek seems just as confused as me, as I start forgetting what it was I even saw.

"Normally I'd say you're just totally exhausted, but when you start seeing weird things, it's usually anything but fatigue."

I reignite my flame and hurry past Treek to check around the corner and make sure that the rest of the team is still OK.

And while peeking around the corner of the bookshelf, I can still see the outlines of everyone else peacefully resting. Tolan is still sleeping on top of the chest, while Cari is rolled up in front of it with Nina leaning against it next to her.

I let out a sigh and lean back around the corner to face Treek.

I've already forgotten what exactly the thing I saw looked like, as Treek starts talking to me again.

"I assume everyone's fine. Otherwise you'd have a different expression. But we should check out upstairs where you saw that thing. - What did it look like again?"

I gather my thoughts and can feel the anxiety leave my body again as I do my best to answer his question.

"I... I don't remember exactly, it's getting all blurry. For some reason I just can't seem to remember anything about it..."

After a short pause in which I press my paws against my head, trying to further focus my thoughts, I form a plan. "We should try to get upstairs and check out where it was I saw it."

I release my paws from my head, as they don't seem to help me remembering whatever it was I saw. I can't even remember what it looked like exactly.

'Was it looking at me or at something else?' I start wandering. 'Did it even have eyes? All I can still remember is a cloud. Maybe it was just some dust? But what color was the dust and what was so special about it?'

Shaking my head and looking at Treek he gives me a nod, thus approving the plan to go upstairs.

Looking past him, I notice see a staircase further down the path and just before it bends around another corner of bookshelves. It is a very narrow staircase and almost looks like it was cramped into where it is now after all the other shelves of books and other random things were added to this back room.

We head towards the stairs and I can feel the rest of the anxiety that was given to me leave my body, only leaving me with the urge to check upstairs.

With the stairs being as narrow as they are and no handrail available to support myself, I decide to extinguish my flame and drop down to all fours to get up the stairs that way.

In the darkness that ensues, I notice a couple of windows on the second floor. They are located far up and towards the back of the building, only letting miniscule amounts of the moonlight fall in. None of them are smashed and they must be located in a spot very difficult to reach.

After reaching the top of the stairs, I reignite my candle light and start looking around while Treek fights his own battle trying to get up. He usually is very good at climbing, but for some reason this ability never extended to stairs.

There is a very narrow corridor leading alongside the balcony I saw from below and allows me to peek over the railing as I wait for Treek to catch up. I thought that I'd be able to overlook more of the room from up here, but the bookshelves are taller than they look from below, only allowing me to look over the first and second row of shelves before a third one is blocking the view. When you don't go up the stairs, the path starts winding through more rows of shelves before apparently leading into a maze of shelves and cupboards.

As I overlook most of them, I start to notice things other than books filling the shelves. Random artifacts of which I have no idea what their purpose might be can be seen randomly scattered all over the shelves. And distracted by all of the things to look at, I get interrupted by Treek arriving at my side.

"Dude. Those stairs are no joke if you don't have claws for grip and a heavy tail dragging behind yourself."

Snapping back to reality, I respond back. "Yeah. But I had my own troubles getting up here. So you're not alone."

Finishing my sentence, I turn around to head the opposite way from the stairs. On my right I can see more shelves filled with all kinds of things. Most of them must have broken over time and under the weight of the objects they were meant to carry. But none of the things appear too interesting. And while I can still see a lot of book, I also notice some pens. One of the shelves is filled with a pile of feathers that must have belonged to some birds I've never seen before. On another shelf I can see a collection of rolled up maps. They appear very old and have probably been completely outdated for a long time.

As I start wondering what maps looking like they'd crumble to dust if they were touched are doing in an abandoned industrial building, I look back at the railing and notice a random and lonely cupboard standing against the guard rail of the balcony. The small locker is located near the end of the corridor, which in itself ends less than a meter after with an antique looking writing desk topped by a burnt down candle.

Redirecting my attention back towards the cupboard, Treek arrives at my side and catches me staring at it while I remain silent and continue watching.

He however wastes no time and walks directly up to it, while by doing so ripping me out of my state of thought.

I set down my bag and walk up to him as he waits for me by the cabinet and begins talking.

"What do you think is inside?" He asks.

I shrug my shoulders and walk up to him.

"I have no idea. Wasn't even my idea to look up here..." I continue while he opens the drawers.

"Wow Cyder. Jackpot!" Treek says while pulling out a hat. It is a very nice looking one, with a feather sticking out on the back and a black ring around its center. It's colored red-brow, thus indicating that it is also a fireproof one.

"I can't believe it." I say astonished at our find.

Turning towards me, he sends a happy smile I return as he continues. "I wouldn't have even checked here if you didn't have the idea of looking upstairs."

Treek hands me the hat and I immediately proceed to try it on while he continues to talk to me. "You know... You and your intuition... How did you get the idea of checking out that cupboard?"

I stop moving the hat as I think about the question for a moment. But when no answer comes to my mind, I simple take the embellishment and answer laughingly. "I don't know. I thought you wanted to look here."

Treek smiles back at me, as I finally find the right rotation and manage to put it on the right way and get a feeling for what feels like.

It feels great. It feels like it had been made just for me and I feel the happiness flowing through me, while continuing to think about our unbelievable luck.

"I guess it doesn't matter who came up with the idea, considering how lucky we got with this one." Treek say to me as the hearty smile he had been wearing since handing me the hat finally spreads onto me as well.


	28. Trade

After this luck of a find we head downstairs again. The staircase is still as small as could be and we're both having troubles getting down without falling. After I manage to get down I help Treek follow me and shortly after we find ourselves back on the lower floor.

I'm still getting used to my new hat. Though different from the old one, I find it very stylish. Unlike the one I had before, this one doesn't have a big cramp on the sides, thus making it much easier for me to see forward without constantly having to adjust the hat.

Before starting to wander about our lucky find, I interrupt myself and begin talking to Treek.

"Are you sure it was my idea to look upstairs? 'Cus I don't remember proposing such a plan..."

Treek finally reaches the lower floor where he stops and begins to think.

After a moment of thinking he states his answer. "Hmm... I don't really remember you saying anything, but I know for certain that I didn't come up with the idea. So excuse me if I just assumed it was your idea..."

He rubs his chin as he appears just as confused as me about the apparent missing information, while I try to think back to the conversation we were having before deciding to head upstairs.

"I remember joking about looking around this place with you." I think out loudly. "But we weren't looking for a new hat... And after that everything just seems blank..."

Treek is just as deep in thought as I am before he starts uttering his thoughts.

"I think there was something..." He tries to start a sentence before restarting. "Like I know that something happened, but I just can't get a grasp on what it was."

But in the end what Treek is describing is the same thing that I remember: nothing. And after a moment of silence, I decide to talk again. "Well... We know where we are and I don't think we're in danger. It's still weird, though. But I do remember what we were planning before."

That sentence seems to rip Treek out of his mental state of trying to remember, as he begins restating our plan.

"Yeah, me too." He says. "We're planning on catching one of the trains that are probably going to start leaving town soon, so we can get a head start on our journey to my parents..."

I interrupt him, as I just thought of a problem I hadn't noticed before. "Right, but I lost all of the money I had, so we won't be able to buy any supplies for the trip." I point to where the others should be on the other side of the wall of bookshelves as I continue. "And I don't think Nina's going to be happy about having to remain hungry if we can't get our hands on any food."

Treek wasn't there when Nina attacked Tolan because he was out to find food after the kids ate all of the remaining berries. So he didn't see her flip out because things weren't going her way.

As Treek tries to say something, I'm overcome with the huge urge to yawn. And while doing so I completely miss what Treek was telling me.

"*Yawn*... Sorry. What were you saying?" I ask him while stretching my muscles a bit.

"I was just saying how we should probably tackle this with a fresh mind on the matter. It's..." Treek interrupts himself mid-sentence as my contagious yawn must have infected him too.

But shortly after recovering from the interruption, he continues. "It's getting late, the others are probably long asleep and the night isn't going to get any longer if we keep on waiting before finally joining them."

I agree with him and give a nod before turning around and starting to head back around the corner to where Nina and the kids should be.

"Hey Cyder." I hear Treek talking behind me. "I know this place is probably a warehouse, but some of the stuff in here looks like it should belong in a museum, huh?"

After only having taken a few steps and not even having reached the corner at the bookshelf, I turn around to face Treek and start inspecting our surroundings again.

"I know dude. This place looked so tiny from the outside, too. When we entered I never expected there to be a second floor. It's like there shouldn't even be any room for it to fit in." After a short pause during which my eyes wander about the books and rolled up papers that can be seen, I continue my comment.

"But you know what's even weirder? I get the feeling that I kind of know this place. Of course I couldn't tell you what's around that corner over there." I say while pointing towards the corner next to the staircase. "When we were upstairs I saw that it leads into a maze of shelves and obviously I have no idea where that ends, but that's not the point. I feel like I've been to a place similar to this, but I can't get myself to actually remember when or where that could have been."

Treek start walking up to me and I can see the fatigue in his eyes as they reflect the light of my flame into mine.

"It's really late." He speaks, suppressing another yawn. "I don't think we'll be able to come to any conclusion if we don't get the proper sleep while there's still enough time."

He walks by me and I follow him around the corner of the bookshelf before starting to head back to the others.

I stay closely behind him and already start having troubles keeping my eyes open. My body knows that it'll be able to sleep in a few moments, and apparently it just doesn't want to wait those last remaining seconds before shutting down.

I extinguished my flame shortly after turning the corner and confirming that everyone is still where they should be. And almost crawling with the last bit of strength my body seems willing to provide me with in order to reach my goal, I fall down next to the chest Tolan is dosing away on top of.

I probably should have paid more attention to where I was falling, as I can feel a sharp stinging in my forehead. 'Ugh... Must have fallen on a pebble.' I think to myself while rubbing through the fur on my head. And although I can't feel the pebble that must have caused the pain, the ache subsides a moment later and I'm able to remain calm before starting to drift away.

Listening to Treek getting comfortable, I notice that I chose to skip that step when I fell down. And while I can't shake my thoughts about the questions Treek and I were throwing at each other, my head decides to remember that I forgot my bag upstairs.

'I'll...' I think to myself, interrupting my thought with an imaginary yawn. 'I'll just get it tomorrow.' And with that thought I find myself finally drifting into a dream.

"Wake up Daddy."

I don't remember what I dreamt of during the night, as I'm awoken by my kids jumping around me and telling me to wake up. Maybe because of the fact that they are only whispering to me, I get reminded of the good old times when we still had our den. It seems like so much time has already passed, when in fact the last time they awoken me this way was only a few days ago.

The feeling over my body returns and I use it to being the day by stretching myself. I can see Nina lingering next to me, obviously awake and chewing on empty air while still having her eyes closed and pretending to be asleep.

"Yay. Daddy's awake." Tolan excitedly tells his sister.

"Good morning you two." I greet them, ready to tackle another day.

Rubbing my eyes I notice some sunlight shining down the corridor. Although having walked past it more than once last night, I must have not noticed the window in the wall opposite of us. But seeing the sunlight now falling through it, it erases all my drowsiness and brightens my day.

"Woah!" Tolan exclaims, grabbing my attention. "Where'd you your cool new hat."

I turn back from the window and notice Tolan as he plays with my new hat. The hat is way too large for him and covered his entire head whenever he tries to put it on. And putting on a smile, I take it away from him, gaining his attention by doing so.

"Treek and I found it upstairs after you all went to sleep last night." Smiling at the happy faces of my kids I continue. "Guess we got really lucky with this one."

My eyes fall on Treek who seems to have woken up from our talking. I can see him reaching for his head and rubbing his eyes before slowing starting to open them.

"This place has an upstairs?" Cari asks, redirecting my attention back towards her.

While putting the hat down to the ground next to me, I answer her question. "Yeah. This place is actually pretty big when you go past the next corner."

"Come." Tolan says to Cari. "Let's explore a bit."

But before he is able to run off with his sister, I manage to stop both of them.

"Please don't." I tell them a moment before they would have dashed away. "I don't want you to go exploring on your own."

Cari seems to accept my restriction immediately and takes the chance to inspect my new hat while Tolan is still distracted from trying to run off.

After a short pause I continue, now technically only speaking to Tolan. "How about this, Tolan: I left my bag upstairs and I'm going to go grab it in a moment. You can come with me if you want."

Finally satisfied with my proposal, Tolan seems to notice that Cari is now playing with the hat. And disappointed that he lost control over the new toy, he gives me a short nod before heading back to Cari having fun blindly walking around with the hat covering her entire head.

I turn away from them and my eyes meet with Treek's. He has gotten himself up while I was introducing the kids to my new clothing item and is currently sliming at the two of them playing with it.

Noticing my attention, he looks away from them and turns towards me.

"Good morning Cyder." He says, greeting me again. "I see their commotion managed to wake you up as well."

"Yeah." I respond while giggling a bit and following his eyes looking at the kids playing. "Sometimes they sure can't keep their joy to themselves."

After a short pause I continue. "Mind if I head upstairs for a moment? I must have left my bag there and I was just going to get it."

"Sure." He tells me and steps aside even though he wasn't blocking the path in the first place. But while doing so he almost falls over an old wooden loom standing next to him.

"Careful dude." I tell to him before turning around and calling to Tolan that I'm about to head upstairs.

"Come Tolan. If you want a chance to look at the place, you'd better come with me now."

I don't have to say it twice, as he immediately stops chasing around Cari hiding under the hat and dashes towards me. And arriving shortly after, I notice Cari dropping the hat and following after her brother even though I didn't explicitly invite her to the excursion. But I don't mind her joining us on the expedition as I get the feeling that some carefree exploration would do well for both of them.

The hat however lands on Nina who was still acting like she was asleep. I can see a smile forming after the flinched a bit from it landing on her face. She must find the playfulness of my kids just as adorable as I do and is amused to participate in it.

After Cari arrives at my side, I turn around to head past Treek and around the corner next to the window. I still find it odd how I didn't notice the window the night before, but as I turn the corner I see something that confuses me much more than the new window, causing me to stop in my tracks while Tolan and Cari bump into me from behind.

Standing around the corner, I can't see any books at all. I see a corridor just as narrow as the one we were sleeping in. Also similarly, it is lined with random wooden and old looking machinery. Among other things, I can see a broom, some buckets, another tool rack, a few damaged crates and a dusty and rusty chandelier. But nowhere can I see any of the books I saw the night before. Nor can I find the tiny staircase that Treek and I had such troubles getting up on the night before.

Where the stairs should have been I can see a door instead. It is slightly tilted and the upper hinge doesn't look like it is still attached to the wall. Instead I can see a small crack between the door and the wall letting in more sunlight. The door must be leading outside, thereby probably being a back entrance to this storage building.

"Why'd you stop, dad?" I can hear Tolan ask me from behind and can feel his paw pressing against the back of my leg, trying to get my attention.

Looking up I can see the ceiling of the building directly above me. Where I am standing it appears to have given in a bit, thereby reaching lower than the roof was where we were sleeping.

"What's wrong daddy?" Cari asks from behind me, as I turn around and quickly head back to Treek.

But before I turn around the corner I run into Treek, barely stopping before crashing into him.

His eyes immediately fall on the narrow corridor I'm standing in. But instead of muting him like seeing it did to me, he starts talking while wearing a very confused look on his face.

"What? Where did all of it... it was... here..."

I can see Nina wearing my hat and peeking around the corner to see what all the ruckus is about, while Tolan and Cari are starting to become impatient.

"Well... What's the matter?" She asks, while handing me my hat. Only slowly regaining my ability to speak and still extremely confused, I accept the hat and manage to start speaking again.

"I... I... There were bookshelves here... and a staircase over there." I say while pointing towards the tilted door with some sunlight shining through the crack.

"And... and the staircase led upstairs." My ability to speak fades again, as Treek's seems to return. And although just as confused as me, he already appears to start coping with the situation as he continues talking while already searching for an explanation for what has happened.

Tolan and Cari turn towards him while Nina continues to inspect the heaps of ancient machinery lying where there should have been bookshelves.

"Cyder's right. This isn't at all like it was yesterday." Treek says and continues while pointing down the path. "There were shelves filled with books and old parchments among other things. But we didn't see any of these things."

Nobody seems to have a clue and as everyone remains silent, trying to come up with an explanation for the disappearance of half of the building, I notice a voice and some footsteps outside.

Responding immediately, I interrupt my state of deep though and react to the new threat without hesitation.

"Hide." I whisper, managing to get everyone's attention.

And not a second too soon either, as Nina looks around to see what I'm referring to. And while Treek and the kids are immediately able to dash towards me, hiding behind the wall separating this back area of the storage building from the front area, she isn't as fast to grasp the situation and remains frozen for another moment.

After the moment passes, I can hear the front door squeak followed by a voice starting to mumble to itself.

"Huh? Why is this not locked?" The voice says as a new light starts falling around the wall we are hiding behind.

Nina is standing directly below the window, letting the daylight shine upon her, thereby being in full view as the 'mon in front enters the building.

Finally realizing that she probably should get out of sight, she jumps into a pile of dusty buckets standing below the window.

But obviously not having her movement prepared, she causes half of the buckets to roll over the floor, fully grabbing the attention of the 'mon that just entered the building as she trips and falls into the buckets while I bite my tongue.

'Arceues damn it! We must find somewhere to hide.' I immediately start wondering, as I look around our surroundings. A moment later, my eyes fall on the damaged crates I noticed earlier. I count three of them in total and they are stacked on top of each other. And with that in mind I get the idea of hiding behind them, as they should provide enough cover to prevent us from being seen.

Wasting no time, as I can already hear footsteps coming from the front, I signal Treek and the kids to follow me immediately. But while Tolan willingly starts following me, I can see Cari ignoring my signals and starting to walk into the view of whoever is in the front before barely managing to grab her around the neck and drag her away.

"Let me go." She whispers at me. "We must safe Nina."

I ignore her bidding and continue to drag her across the floor, navigating around a tool rack while Treek and Tolan have already reached the crates.

Cari tries to bite me while I'm determined not to let go continue to drag her after me, barely managing to escape her fangs.

"Please." I whisper to her, trying to get her to understand.

And while Cari still doesn't accept my decision of leaving Nina behind, she doesn't try to bite me again and continues to let me drag her as I barely avoid crashing into a pile of firewood that I hadn't noticed before and finally manage to sneak my way to the back of the crates.

Tolan and Treek are already and anxiously waiting behind the crates, waving me to hurry up on these last few steps. And after I finally managed to drag myself and Cari out of view, I can immediately spot a Munchlax walking around the corner, dragging itself towards the pile of buckets Nina should be hiding under.

The Munchlax looks very tired and barely has its eyes opened, as it starts mumbling curses. "Damn ferals. Always breaking in here and making a mess..."

Cari is very angry with me and looks away, while Treek, Tolan and I are peeking through the tiny cracks covering the wood of the broken crates. The Munchlax isn't paying any attention at the crates and, instead directing all of it towards the buckets.

I can't see Nina as he walks up to the pile with some of the buckets spilled over the floor. But the Munchlax appears to already know what to expect as it sneaks up to Nina's hiding spot while holding a broom in its paws.

After being less than a meter away from it, he jumps forward and kicks aside the pile of buckets, causing the rest of them to scatter across the floor as well.

I can see a startled and tailless Rattata jumping out of the pile of buckets, immediately going out of view when it dashes behind the wall separating the back room from the front room. It is probably heading for the still open front door, as the Munchlax is angrily throwing his broom towards where the mouse was running while yelling "Get out of here!"

I can hear the broom colliding with some of the machinery stacked in the front area, alongside a crunching sound as either the broom or whatever it hit must have broken on impact. The loud noises continue and something is being scattered across the floor.

The Munchlax sighs and mopes. And after a moment during which I almost start to feel sorry for the poor 'mon, I see Cari peeking through another crack in the crate, inspecting the scenery as well.

I don't know how much of what happened she actually saw, but I get my answer as she looks up to me with a very sorry expression on her face. Unlike her, I immediately remembered that Nina can just escape by disguising herself as a feral that might naturally be scurrying through the warehouse.

As she looks at me she tries to tell me that she's sorry, but I shake my head and signal her to remain quiet. Something she immediately understands before turning back towards one of the cracks in the crate.

We continue to watch the Munchlax, as he bitterly collects all of the scattered buckets and puts them back into their former pile. He really doesn't seem too happy with having to do so and takes an eternity before finally finishing and putting the final bucket back into its place.

"' Been some time since 'e Rattata dared t' come in nea." He starts mumbling to himself. "'Dey betta stay outa here if dey know what's good for 'em."

He sighs again and turns around towards the crates we are hiding behind. We immediately freeze in place, trying to go undetected. And apparently we succeeded as the Munchlax rolls his eyes before restarting his mumbling while turning to head back.

"What was d' fing even doin na?" His mumbling continues. "'Tis not like there'd be any food lyin' round dese parts."

We remain where we are, as we continue to listen to the dampened mumbling coming from the Munchlax, alongside more items being dragged across the floor.

'He must be recollecting whatever it was he hit with his broom.' I think to myself before silence settles back in for a moment.

After the moment passes, I can hear a clicking sound followed by a loud squeaking. It isn't the squeaking that the front door makes and I can still see the light that must be passing through it, meaning that he has opened something different.

My thoughts remind me of the chest we had slept in front of the previous night and I start to fear he might discover the signs of our presence.

'I hope we didn't leave anything lying around.' I think to myself.

But after a while of the Munchlax shifting various wooden and metallic objects around, I can hear the squeaking again, followed by the same clicking sound I previously heard.

Immediately after, more footsteps can be heard shuffling across the floor, before the more silent squeaking of the front door closing can be heard, followed by the light vanishing and another clicking that is probably the lock of the front door.

I'm the first to dare open my mouth again. "That was close." I say as I step out from the back of the crates.

"I though he found us when looked directly at the crates." Treek exclaims with a sigh of relive.

I look down to Cari, as she tries to give me an apologetic smile. She opens her mouth but before she manages to start talking, I open mine and tell her that she doesn't need to say anything.

"Apology accepted, Cari. I find it very noble of you to want to protect Nina like that. But you've got to remember that she can simply disguise herself to get away in a situation like this."

She closes her mouth again and gives me a nod, to which I reply with a nod myself before facing Treek again.

As I try look up, I can see Tolan walking over to his sister. And following him with my eyes, I look my daughter into her face again. She is crying, so instead of facing Treek like I had planned, I kneel down next to her and pay her my attention.

"I'm sorry I doubted you *sniff*..." She starts whining, her sobs of sorrow addressed at me. "I even tried to bite you."

"There there..." I say, as I pet her on the head. "Hm? No reason to cry."

"But I could have gotten you captured..." She continues to snivel. "I could have gotten you captured and would have lost you forever..."

I continue to caress the hide on her head, cheeks and neck, as I finally realize that this was destined to happen sooner or later. She's just a child, and sooner or later neither she nor her brother will be able to cope with the constant danger we're in. The only reason she was able to deal with it thus far was because she just pushed it away and tried not to think about it. I should have already noticed when I woke up this morning. The only reason she and Tolan were playing so cheerfully together was because they were trying to distract each other from the harsh reality that is actuality surrounding them.

I continue to caress her, while Tolan does the same. My son must still be able to deal with it because he thinks he has to be tough, or because he wasn't the one who almost walked out into the danger, dragging me into it as well.

After a while, I look up to Treek watching us thoughtfully. He too must have realized that these are all the backed up emotions Cari was pushing away during the last couple of days.

Some more time passes before Cari finally starts to slow down with her grief, only to be completely interrupted as the backdoor flings open.

Startled, Treek and I spin around as Tolan does the same, giving his best effort at standing in a correct battle pose while covering his sister.

The sun is blinding us and I can't see what is we are looking at. But we were too reckless and should have never remained in the open corridor without making sure we could hide in a moment's notice.

'It's all over; we've been detected.' Is the only thing I can think of, as my ember flares and my eyes finally begin adjusting to the brightness flowing in from the outside.


	29. Rackle

"Who were you expecting?" Nina asks, as I finally identify her as the intruder that managed to find us.

The anxiety instantly leaves my body and I leave my battle stance while letting out a huge sigh.

"Woah!" I say to her. "You wouldn't believe how relieved I am to see..."

I get interrupted by Cari dashing between my legs and running towards Nina. And while I'm confused as to what is going to happen next, Cari starts talking. "You silly silly dullard. Why wouldn't you hide with us? I was so worried for you."

She continues by hugging Nina, who appears just as happy to see my daughter again.

I'm still as surprised, but I start to get the idea of what is happening. I didn't notice before, but Cari and Nina must have started to bond after she had to carry my daughter during the last couple of nights.

A hearty smile overcomes me, as I watch how happy Nina is about being overwhelmed by my concerned daughter.

"You didn't need to worry about me." She says. "I can look out for myself, you know."

Ignoring the statement, Cari continues while rubbing her cheek against Nina's fur. "I was sooo worried about you..."

Not wanting to interrupt such a heartwarming scene, I overcome myself and finally step outside while being followed by Treek.

And while Tolan doesn't seem to share the same bond with Nina as his sister does, he still remains smiling by her side, probably stunned by the warmth of the sight.

After stepping outside I find myself in a backyard surrounded by tall and overgrown fences from all sides. Between all of the grasses filling the ground, I can see more objects lying around. Too much of them covered by the scrubs to allow them to be identified, but they don't appear to be nearly in as good of a condition as the things we saw inside.

Carefully looking at the fences, I can be sure that nobody would be able to just glance at them and see us standing behind. And while I can't find the spot Nina used to enter the yard, I turn around to face Treek.

Looking back at the building, I can see just how tiny it actually it. There is a short ladder leading up onto a flat roof covering the building that's only twice as high as I am when standing up. And with no windows on this side of the building, only the door can be seen sticking out of the middle of the plain and old looking wall.

Treek steps outside into the sunlight and follows my eyes looking back at the building. He is carrying his own bag around his shoulders and looking at the building must be making him wonder about the same questions I'm thinking about, as he turns around and start to articulate them.

"If this is how tall this building is..." he begins before stopping.

After a moment, I continue the sentence for him. "... Them where were we last night. And where is my bag?"

I don't even have to wonder if Treek is just as stunned as I am, as the kids and Nina finally appear to finish up and join us outside.

They follow our eyes staring at the building and as if by transfer of though, Nina interrupts the silence by asking a question.

"So. What was all that mess about missing staircases and what not?"

Reminding Tolan and Cari about the discussion we had before almost getting detected, Treek is reminded of something.

"Hey Cyder." He says, gaining my attention. "If I remember correctly, yesterday when we were exploring that mysteriously disappearing upper floor, you said you had the feeling that you knew that place."

I do remember saying that. But I had hoped that Treek had forgotten that I said so. Since then I had time to think about what I meant when I said that, and I actually managed to remember what I was referring to. As a matter of fact, this would actually be able to explain the whole deal with the disappearing floor.

Yet since Treek has decided to remember that part, he's leaving me no other choice but to lie to him. Not because I don't trust him enough to know that he would understand the truth. Not even because I'm still not trusting Nina as much as him and she would hear my answer as well. - Although she's definitely a big influence for the decision. No: because I can't find myself to accept it as the true reason behind what has happened.

I just can't get myself to believe it, because it should be impossible for such a thing to happen. More than enough safeguards are in place to prevent something like this from just randomly happening, much less in a place like this, or to anyone but me and only me all by myself.

"I thought about it, Treek." I begin, not wanting to appear suspicious. "But I wasn't able to come to any sort of conclusion. It probably was just one of those feeling you sometimes get."

Treek seems to buy my lie, as he turns back towards the building and continues to wander about what might have caused it.

I decide to play my role of being just as baffled as him and join him in his staring contest, as Nina finally does me the favor of changing the subject.

"You guys..." She moans. "I'm starving. Break first should have been like two hours ago..."

Ripping Treek out of his cogitative state and me out of my faked one, we turn around and Treek starts furrowing his brows.

"Yeah... About that" I try to start an explanation, but not getting any farther when Nina drops down to her stomach and lets her tongue hang out before continuing to moan.

"Ugh! I know we don't have any food, but can't we just buy some?"

I try to put up a sorry excuse for a smile while taking off my hat and scratching through the fur on my head. "You see... All of our money was in my bag..."

I imagined her just to continue to moan. I was even considering the rare chance that she'd freaked out again and attack someone. But she manages to surprise me with her real reaction, as she jumps up from the ground with a smile on her face.

'Didn't you just hear me?' I wonder to myself, as she starts talking before I can.

"No problem! I can get you guys something to eat."

"How are you planning on doing that?" I ask, still surprised and not fully grasping her plan.

"In case you haven't noticed: I can disguise myself as anyone I want..."

"Yeah?" I interrupt. "But you said yourself that you're only a beginner. And I've seen myself what you mean by that. When you were running away disguised as that mouse, you were missing the tail."

"So what." She retorts. "That was only because I didn't have time to get a real disguise going. But now you guys can tell me how I look before I head out. And also: I know I didn't have a tail. - That's on purpose. I don't expect you to know, but a Zorua will always drop its disguise when touched by the tail. So to contradict that, sometimes I simply give the illusion of not having a tail. And while a tail is always still there being invisible, it's really not that easy to touch something you can't see."

I actually didn't know that a Zorua would lose its disguise when touched by the tail. And while I still don't believe that she forgot about the tail on purpose, I decide not to mention it for the fear of having her tell me the same thing again.

"But are you sure you can keep up a fully-fledged illusion long enough to ~get~ supplies without accidentally letting it drop or having anyone touch you by the tail?" I ask after a moment, already hinting at my approval.

"Sure." She responds and proudly continues while nodding at Treek. "The only reason you were able to see past my disguise was because I had no chance to learn how Treek ticks when around you."

'Yeah sure.' I think to myself sarcastically. 'That's definitely the only reason...'

"In that case I have no further objections." I answer, raising my eyebrows a bit. And as I can feel my stomach trying to reinforce the statement, making it hard for me to keep it from scaring everyone away, I continue laughingly "'Cause I'm just as hungry as you are; if not even more."

While I continue to do my best trying to tame my stomach, Treek states the obvious question. "But what are you going to disguise yourself as?"

'That's a very good question.' I think to myself, redirecting my attention back to Nina and letting my stomach take the chance and growl at everyone while I'm distracted.

After a moment of everyone looking at me and my stomach, we all turn back to Nina to hear what she has to say.

"I don't think it should really matter. As long as it isn't one of you guys or me, but..."

She stops in mid-sentence and I take the chance to continue it for her. "... You don't really know too many disguises, do you?"

Obviously having hurt her pride, she proudly stands up to me and responds. "No! I know many disguises from memory. Like I know a ... mmm Rattata and a... ahmm..."

Not wanting to appear incompetent, she quickly continues. "You know what I mean. Just give me an idea what I should disguise as."

"How about one of the other soldiers?" Treek inserts. "They won't question them being here and I've already seen you transform into that Raticate."

After a short pause, Nina slowly states her answer. "I could try to do those from memory, but... I can't call myself a master in the matter just yet..."

"We'll help you!" Cari exclaims. "You just do what you can and we help you get the rest correct."

Coming from Cari it must mean more to her, as Nina agrees to give transforming into a Raticate a try, assuming we'll all pitch in and help her get all the details correct.

A while has already passed and we are still trying to model a convincing looking Raticate from memory. I made sure that this one actually has a tail which was surprisingly difficult considering the tail isn't the part of a creature you usually look at. And although I think we did a good job on the tail, I'm still hoping that other 'mons think the same way I do when it comes to where you pay the most attention to.

The Sun has already reached its zenith and the backyard we are in is being lit directly from above. Looking up, I can't see any clouds in the clear blue sky and it feels unusually warm for the time of year. - Sure: spring's just around the corner and this upcoming year is supposed to have a longer warm season, but it's still very early and we may not have seen the last snow of this winter.

"I'm telling you those things have four whiskers!" Cari bickers.

"What are you? - Blind? They only have two." Tolan shouts back. "Don't you remember that picture book with drawings of all the different 'mons? I definitely remember the Raticate only having two whiskers."

"Well. You're remembering wrong, because I had a Raticate trading card and it only had two whiskers on there."

Looking away from the nearly complete model of the brown normal type with huge fangs standing in front of us, I try to get them to settle down. "I don't think it really matters how many whiskers the thing has..."

"Yeah it does!" Cari interrupts me. "What if Nina meets another Raticate and everyone can see that it's the wrong amount?"

Trying to solve the conflict I still think that it shouldn't matter. So I try to get Tolan and Cari to find a compromise. "Why don't we just say three whiskers? That way you can both be right."

"No." Tolan and Cari bickers back in unison.

But before either one of us is able to say another word, Treek steps in. "If you still want to get something to eat today, we shouldn't get hung up on something like this."

Looking at the disguised Nina he continues. "She looks like a pretty convincing Raticate to me."

Respecting his interruption, we decide not to argue about it anymore. And while Nina settles on displaying three whiskers like I suggested, probably trying to satisfy me, Treek continues. "Now why don't you show me your voice?"

I can hear the Raticate harrumphing before beginning to speak a test sentence.

"Hi! I'm Rackle the Raticate, nice to meet ya!"

I bite my tongue as I don't want to upset Nina, because her impression was awful. The tone she spoke in was way too clear to be believable coming from a creature with teeth that big in its mouth.

I start to wander how she ever managed to impersonate Treek's voice as well as she did. And noticing my dissatisfaction while apparently reading my mind, she tries to justify herself. "A Treecko is much easier that dealing with these huge teeth."

"But you did a convincing job on that snake when we escaped from the dungeon." I try to argue, doing my best to make her believe in herself a bit more.

"That was super easy, you know. An Arbok like Zizzle just has those teensy tiny holes in its head for ears. - You can easily make anything sound believable to someone like that."

I bite my tongue again as Treek steps up, and again being the voice of reason he suggest to Nina how she could make her impression sound better. "Try to speak without closing you mouth when talking. Because that's how I would imagine a Raticate having to talk, considering he has those huge jaws."

"OK. - I can try." The rat answers awkwardly while scratching his head and clipping its arm through half of its body.

"And try not to do that." I say as the astonished illusion of the rat notices its mistake and quickly moves its arm back into a more believable place.

"OK. Here I go..." Nina says before harrumphing once again and starting to speak.

"Hi! A'm Rackle dhe Radicad, nishe to eet ya!"

It still sounds a bit off to me, but it's starting to sound a bit more like a real Raticate would sound to me.

Giving Nina a thumbs up, I can see a deformed smile appear on the illusion's face, causing me to instantly retract my paw, thus making Nina realize her mistake and totally off looking smile from her face.

A bit more time passes, before everyone feels comfortable enough to let Nina out into the city to get supplies. During training she showed us a small hole in the fence that she used to get into the backyard of the storage building before almost giving us a heart attack when she showed up.

"I think we're all set." Treek exclaims.

Looking at the sky, I can see it already being early afternoon. 'The day goes by fast when you wake up late.' I think to myself before giving my own pep talk.

"You know the deal Nina. Check out the train schedule and get supplies. Either you have to be convincing enough to buy stuff on the purse of this Rackle guy, or you'll have to steal what you can't get your paws on with deception. And make sure you..."

"Yeah yeah. Don't get caught; don't lead anyone here, jaddy jaddy jadda..." I get interrupted by the anxious Rackle. And even though that was what I was going to say, I try to keep my pride by skipping ahead.

"Actually I was going to wish you good luck." I respond in a caring tone.

"Oh. Thanks I guess. Good luck remaining hidden to you then." The illusion answers, speaking with Nina's voice.

"Good luck, Nina." Cari wishes her the best of luck, as she waves her tiny paw at Nina.

"And good luck from me." Tolan adds while walking up to stand next to his sister.

Not wanting to be left out, Treek joins us. "I wish you good luck as well. And try to stay safe."

Nina turns around and I watch in amusement as most of the Raticate phases through the overgrowth on the metal fence, while the Zorua in its center crawls through the actual hole. She explained to me earlier that she can simulate the illusion of touch to other 'mons, but obviously not to the environment. Meaning she can chose whether or not to make parts of the image she hides behind pass through walls. And while she obviously wouldn't do that when someone other than us can see her, she doesn't want to risk disabling the illusion while crawling through the hole.

It just looks weird and I can't keep myself for giggling a bit to myself when she goes out of view on the other side of the fence. And as I turn around I can see Treek being infected by the same joy I'm experiencing.

'Hopefully there won't be any more talk about yesterday evening.' I think to myself and with the last glimpses of Nina vanishing, I adjust my hat and turn back towards the rest of the team, looking at me to decide on what to do until Nina comes back.


	30. Secrets & Friends

"Well..." Treek begins. "Nina will be gone for a while. So what are we going to do in the mean time?"

I think back at the disappearing floor. Actually everything behind that wall separating the back of the building was different. Yet since I don't understand what happened myself, I decide to steer the conversation in a different direction.

Noticing that I'm staring where the buildings second floor should have been, I quickly come up with something that would explain me looking there. "We should probably get to higher grounds. Then we can look out for Nina's return."

I start walking towards the ladder next to the door, but before I manage to reach it I can hear a voice interrupting me.

"Cyder..." Treek talks to me from behind. Already having extended my arm to touch the ladder, I freeze and listen to what he has to say. "Nina's not here. So you don't have to worry about her hearing what your words."

I already know what he wants to ask of me, but not having though about something better to say, I let him ask the obvious next question. So I turn around and look into the questioning eyes of him and my kids.

"I know you must have some idea of what happened to the rest of the building. If anyone would know something about how half a building could just disappear, it would be you. Not just because you're the holder of wisdom, but because something like that wouldn't just randomly happen to any other 'mon."

In the time that had passed since I had to lie to them before, I had time to think about how I was going to respond to this. And while I was hoping that it wouldn't actually come to it, I'm glad that I didn't just go ahead and said what I knew; or rather though to know. Because saying what it could have been to anyone, even a friend as close as Treek who has always been there for me, would have been a grave mistake.

"I really don't know why it happened..." I begin to lie. "And I don't know how it happened. But ..."

After a pause during which I'm punctured by the anxious eyes of him and the kids I sigh and continue. "You're right: I do have an idea of what happened. And I'm truly sorry for this, but there's no way I can tell you without risking catastrophic consequences. Because if what I fear is true, it would mean that something has happened that should have never ever ~ever~ been able to happen under ~any~ circumstances."

I take a short pause and look into the unsatisfied faces of Treek and my kids. Afterwards I turn around and look back at the old and damaged storage building whose backyard we are standing within.

"I know you're dissatisfied with that answer, but if what happened is really what I think or rather fear, then it poses a risk that goes far beyond you. - Far beyond me. If what I fear has truly happened, then there is something out there that should have never been able to find its way into this world."

My explanation doesn't appear to do any good, as the confusion and dissatisfaction of the faces I'm looking at only appears to be increasing.

Trying to do my best to satisfy their looks, I search for something else I could say. And after closing my eyes and taking another deep breath I find the words to tell them just a bit more.

"There is one other thing I can tell you. This building..." I turn around and press my paw against a wooden pole between to the back door and the ladder next to it.

"This building never had a second floor. And the back area never looked any different from what it looks now, either. This..." And to emphasize my point I pat the wall again.

"This is how it has always been. And my bag and this hat." I continue while taking pointing at the hat I'm wearing. "Both of them should have stayed where they were."

"Is there something special about that hat then?" Tolan asks, hoping I'll be able to answer his question.

"The chance of this hat being something special..." I say while taking it off and looking at it in my paws before continuing. "... Is just as likely that some random rock you pick up is special as well."

I think about what I just said, as I realize that that might not truly be the case. And seeing how correcting my statement isn't going to hurt anyone I do so. "Well... Actually this hat might be something special. - But not in a way you might expect. Nobody will ever be able to use it as something other than the hat it is, but this hat might be special because of its origins."

I end the sentence by putting the hat back on my head. And looking at the group I don't notice anyone having a question they could articulate. I feel sorry for not being able to say more, but before can redirect my attention back to the ladder behind me, it is Treek who interrupts the silence and asks a question.

"This might sound weird and you might not be able to answer the question, but if that place we went to didn't exist - whatever you might mean by that: what does that mean for me? I was in there with you."

I was already reaching for the ladder when Treek asked the question and just before touching it I freeze again before thinking about it.

'Treek has a point.' I wonder to myself. 'That is something I haven't even though about yet. - After all: him being there was one of the things that should have never happened.'

Never before did I not know something that I couldn't just find out later, may it be by experimentation or by accessing the knowledge of the ancients. But this time I know that there is nothing I can do to find the answer Treek is looking for. Nothing I can do to predict what may be the consequences resulting from this. It may just be nothing and everything will continue as it would have if Treek hadn't been there. Or maybe he has become something that even I can't describe or tell the consequences of.

"I never said this before, but I honestly don't know. - And I have no way of finding out. You may just be the same old Treecko you were before, but you may have become something different altogether."

I can see that my not knowing something is frightening Treek, so I quickly add onto my statement. "But you shouldn't worry about it too much. I guess I've just always spoiled you by being able to give you an answer to your questions sooner or later."

Surprising me again, he seems to accept my response and my eyes cycle back over the three of them. I can still see questioning faces looking back at me, but I don't think I can answer any of the questions they have. So after some time passes, I begin talking to them.

"I know it's not much to go on, but that's what you get when you live with someone who's destined to write history. But you must promise me not to tell Nina anything I just told you."

Looking at Cari I continue. "Especially you Cari: I know you like Nina a lot. - And that's great. But I must ask of you not to go tell her any of this. She's still new to the group and even though she hasn't given us any reason to doubt the trust we're putting in her, this may be something bigger than anything you can image. - I really mean it: this is something important enough to make me fear telling you, when I usually always tell you everything. So please..."

A moment later Cari nods at me before I turn to Tolan and Treek. "The same thing applies to you as well. Not a word about this conversation to Nina. If she asks about the missing floor again, tell her that Treek and I were too exhausted and what we saw wasn't really there."

"I'm sorry I must ask you to lie for me, but it's really important. Because you have to realize that the only way of preventing knowledge from falling into the wrong paws, is to not tell anyone."

While Treek was already nodding to me when I began my sentence, Tolan finally decides to join in and stick to the lie as well.

"Thank you all." I say to them. "Then I suggest we get back to the original plan. I'd like us to wait on top of this the storage house, so we can have a vantage point on anyone who might come around."

I turn back towards the ladder and start climbing up. The ladder is rusty and in fear of it breaking I turn around one more time, to tell the others to only follow me one at a time.

I quickly reach the top of the building and can immediately notice how the flat roof caved in a bit, like we've already seen from the inside. I can see a rock lying in the center of the dent. Some vandal must have thrown it from the street onto the roof, as it doesn't look like a meteor, which in itself would have already been something that would have been extremely unlikely to happen.

Looking around, I can see a small railing we can hide behind on all the other sides of the roof.

I drop down on all fours and creep up to the border of the border.

Looking up and down the street we were sneaking through the night before, I can't see another 'mon anywhere. Even through it's the middle of the day, the whole place looks like a town inhabited by ghost types during the day.

Sneaking back towards the middle of the roof next to where the rock is lying, I can already Tolan and Cari having made it while sitting on their hind legs. They are looking up towards me and wear a happy smile, causing me to wander what they are smiling about.

Treek is just arriving on top of the roof, but I barely notice him as I walk up to the kids and ask them what they are so happy about.

"Well..." Tolan responds before having his sentence completed by Cari. "While we are waiting for Nina, we thought you could continue your story where you left off."

After a moment Tolan talks again. "You know. We kind of got interrupted..."

I try to think of a reason why I shouldn't just continue telling them the story. I didn't really have anything else planned except for waiting for Nina's return. And since we are basically alone I decide to agree.

Turning to Treek I start setting up some necessary precautions. "Treek, would you mind being on the lookout for anyone to walk by? The kids want me to continue telling them my story."

"Yeah I heard." He responds. "I guess I can be the guard, but be prepared from having to interrupt your story in a moment's notice."

Immediately after reaching the roof Treek walks by me and after dropping to all fours he sneaks up to the railing and starts watching the road below.

I turn back to my kids before starting to talk again. "I find it quite odd that you would want me to tell a story at this time."

Deciding to answer my implicit question, Tolan speaks up. "What better time than this? You made it quite clear how important it is for you not to tell us any more about what really happened than you already did..."

I'm surprised by their cooperation and after Tolan gets interrupted by Cari adding a "might have happened" to his sentence, he continues. "But it could be some time before Nina returns and there shouldn't be a reason why we'd have to bore ourselves in the meantime."

I understand his reasoning and proceed to get myself comfortable.

"What point was it I left of at?" I ask while trying to find a position comfortable enough to remain in.

"Ahm..." Tolan tries to answer but fails.

"You were..." Cari gives it a shot, but doesn't seem to remember either.

"Don't worry." I start joking. "I'm just going to restart from the beginning."

-

I woke up in damp and dark cave, with every muscle in my body shouting to me in pain

-

"No!" Tolan shouts while standing up. "You were in the back of that carriage and Monster just emptied that bucket of water over you."

"I was joking before." I settle him down again. "I remembered where I left off as well."

I giggle a bit before harrumphing and actually continue telling the story where I left off.

-

I was still in the back of the carriage as it rattled through the terrain, feeling every waterhole it drove through resonate through the cage and the chains holding me, slowly driving me insane as I could feel every ever so tiny tremor.

Soaking wet and extremely weakened by the bucket of water that was thrown at me I didn't know what was going to happen next. All I knew at the time was that I was living my worst fear of time.

Monster continued to enjoy the apples he was sitting next to, while eyeballing me from time to time as my soaking wet fur only slowly began to dry up.

I knew he was torturing me. I knew he was trying to break me. And I knew he was going to succeed sooner or later. With Treek dead and myself being locked up in a cage heading towards an unknown location which definitely wasn't going to have anything better in store for me, I was starting to lose all hope which was probably to the liking of Monster.

-

"But Treek isn't dead." Tolan interrupts my story. "He's sitting right over there."

"Hello-o?" I get his attention back. "Spoilers. - You don't know that yet."

"Yeah we do." Cari inserts, wondering what I was talking about.

"First of: you already knew that when I mentioned it the last time. And second of: do you want me to continue my story?"

I get my answer as a moment of silence passes during which Tolan and Cari are pressing their lips together. Sneaking a peek at Treek, I see him giggling over the interruption while the joy spreads onto me.

Noticing that I caught him doing so, he quickly turns back towards the road as I continue telling the story.

-

"You know, Quilava. I tried to say it before but I'll say it again. I'm not the bad 'mon here. And I need you to understand that. All I do is because I just want the best for everyone in Sazari and Zatola. Heck: before he was standing in my way I even wanted nothing but the best for your Treecko buddy."

I tried to grind my teeth again, but with the water still dripping over my back, my body was too weak to give Monster the proper responses I wished I could have given him as he continued to talk.

Just having finished his apple, he threw its core into the terrain passing by before crawling back over to me.

"See: I want to be your friend." He said in a very sweet tone. And with me being too weak to respond to him again, he understood my reaction as what it really was at the time: fear. I was truly afraid of what he was going to do next. Though I still didn't want to work for him, only to be used because I'm special, what I really didn't want was to make him empty another bucket over my head.

Sensing my fear must have been exactly what he was hoping for. And with me not showing any more aggressions towards him, he continued to talk.

"See? Isn't that much better now?" He asked while I continued to squeeze my eyes closed and press my teeth against each other, not showing them out of fear of appearing aggressive.

After a moment of awkward silence, I opened one of my eyes to see a paw in my cage. But the fear was doing its job, as I didn't feel the urge to attack the limb Monster was holding through the bars. The bars were spread out pretty far, so if I wasn't being restrained by the chains binding me to the corners of the cage, I could have simply walked out of there.

Yet his claw wasn't the only thing I saw then. It was holding the apple that he previously threw into the cage and in front of my feet. He was holding the up to my head, so if I wanted I could have accepted the offer he was making and could have just taken a bite out of it.

But even though I can't say I wasn't hungry at the time, I also didn't think I was going to allow myself getting bribed that easily.

I closed the eye I opened earlier and slowly rotated my head away from the apple.

"You know these are good for you even when you're a carnivore." Monster started talking again. "I'm a carnivore as well; just like you. So you can trust me on this one." The voice wasn't coming from near my head anymore and Monster must have leaned back again, as I could hear how he started chewing a new apple, announcing the fact with the crunching sound associated with doing so.

"Look Quilava." He began anew. "I think we came off on the wrong foot. So why don't I tell you who I am and what my goals really are?"

After hearing another bite sound from the apple he was eating, he continued. "And if you continue to behave yourself, I might even be able to answer some of the questions you must be having."

After another short pause, this time not interrupted by the sound of an apple bite, the voice started speaking to me from next to my ear again.

"Why I would do this, you might be asking yourself." He said in a very sweet tone before continuing after a short pause. "I do this because I want to be your friend, - because I want you to trust me."

Putting the emphasis on ~friend~ and ~trust~, I couldn't keep myself from adding my own comment onto it.

"You're not my friend." I said, barely managing to whisper the sentence.

"What was that?" The voice responded from far away again.

I opened my eyes and turned my head to face the Nidoking before responding, this time in a voice loud enough that it shouldn't have caused Monster any problems to understand.

"You... are NOT my friend." I said again, now angrily staring the beast into his eyes.

"Oh." It responds, almost in a sad tone. "That's too bad. Because I really like my friends and I would love to add you to my list of them. You see: I think of everyone in this country and its great neighbor Zatola as my friend. And all those who haven't heard of me are just friends I haven't met yet."

Moving back closer to me, I could once again see how massive this beast truly was.

Clenching his teeth, he said the next thing in a very aggressive tone. "But you really don't want to lose your privilege of remaining on that list."

After a short dramatic pause he proceeded to talk in his regular, nice voice again. "Do you want to know what happens to those who are not the list?"

"What?" I ask, still pressing my teeth against each other.

"I give each of them one chance to earn a spot. And if they reject my offering, they're going to have to bear the consequences of making the choice."

After another pause, he continues to speak slowly but steadily. "So Quilava... I'll ask you the question. Do you have any objections to being put on my personal list of friends?"

I didn't dare to speak up again. Not after what happened last time. And with my fur still being soaking wet from the water and continuing to cause me immense amounts of pain in every corner of my body, I just decided to do nothing. And so I didn't move a single muscle as the carriage continued to rattle across the land, sending jolts of pain to my exhausted muscles and making me dizzy.

After a pause long enough to allow Monster to eat a whole other apple during which I simply stared at him, watching as he took his time to chew every bite he took before finally throwing the core into one of the fields we were passing, he finally spoke again.

"You made the right choice ... friend."

"Now why don't I introduce myself? I'm a Jaziro of the Nido-family. But you can call me Jacob. - It's kind of become my name among my friends."

"I command a good portion of the Sazarian military. You might be wondering what I do and what the military is. So let me tell you: we explore other lands and new worlds, looking to make new friends on the way."

"But sometimes we make friend right here at home. Because the land you are in right now is our home. - Sazari. And oh boy: you're so lucky; you're going to meet the emperor. He's a 'mon that's friends with everyone and everyone is friends with him. But you can imagine how much work it can be when you try to be friends with everyone. So he can't find the time to travel around and meet all the friends he has himself."

"But the reason you're so lucky is because he wants you to become one of his best friend. I'm his best friend too, you see. And I can tell you: if you're his best friend, you won't ever have to worry about anything. You can have all the room and space and food you want. And you also get to be friends with everyone he's friends with. - Which is every single 'mon you might come across."

Walking up to my cage again, he started speaking personally again. "But you know what the best part is? The only think he asks in return, is that you accept his friendship offer. - Isn't that great?"

It all was starting to sound very good in my head. And with knowing as little as I did to go on, I was already starting to forget about Treek and how cruel Jacob was to me and him before.

"Where's the catch?" I asked, still not completely convinced but with no discernible anger in my voice anymore.

"Why would you think there's a catch?" Jacob asked. "I mean: the only thing I can think of is that he might ask you to travel the world to find new friends; like he asked of me. But if you don't want to do that, I'm sure you can stay home and help out all his other closest friends, like myself, by finding better ways for making friends."

"So what do you say? Do you want to meet the best friend you could have made?"

While I started thinking about the offer made to me, I didn't notice how I was able to scratch my chin with my paws. Jacob had unlocked the chains holding my arms and is now stretching his paw through the bars, expecting me to shake it as a sign of accepting the friendship was offering to me.


	31. Good Guys

Jacob continued to hold his paw through the bars, still waiting for me to make the next move and hoping that I was going to shake it. And I knew what I had to do. I knew that he wasn't actually giving me a choice, because sooner or later the carriage would make progress and we'd reach our destination. At which point there were going to be too many eyes looking at me, robbing me of my privacy and preventing me from making an escape.

While slowly stopping to scratch my chin and looked up to stare the Nidoking into his eyes. They didn't look like the eyes of someone acting out of hatred. And despite me knowing that he was only acting and that he must have despised me in reality, I finally decided on the next action I was going to take.

I was going to play along and accept his offer. Then try to gain as much of his trust as I could, up to the point where I could run. And I needed to act quickly in order to reach that point before the wagon would reach its destination.

But the biggest problem at the time was the hatred I still held against him. No amount of fear from the consequences would extinguish the anger coursing through me, fueled by the death of my friend.

Finally finding a believable balance between acting like I was going to join him, while still remaining a bit suspicious of him as to not make him question my fairly sudden change of opinion, I began to state my response. "I will join you, Jacob. I will do as you say. But today is not the day I'll start referring to you as my friend."

I extend my paw from my chin and grabbed onto the claws Jacob was stretching through the bars. While starting to shake it, I expanded on my conditions. "You may refer to me as Quill and I will refer to you as Jaziro."

Swallowing my anger, I failed to do so for a second and squeezed the Nidoking's paw too harsh, causing him to flinch and rip his claws out of the cage.

He remained uncharacteristically silent as he started me in the face after sending a quick glance at his paw.

A few moments passed and I started to feel the vibrations of the carriage resonating through the cage and the chains binding my legs again, before Jacob finally began to talk again.

"Fair enough!" He said solemnly before standing up. Probably having noticed the tiny flinches I was experiencing whenever the cart drove through one of the holes covering the neglected road, he yelled over my head "Hey driver. Stop the cart."

At first I was confused as to what was happening, considering that at no point I had no idea how I was transported across the terrain and at no point had a change to turn around and look the direction we were heading. But after a moment I began to realize that the vibrations lessened while the cart came to a stop. Alongside the suspension of our travel, I instantly began to feel better. Not just because I finally wasn't experiencing the tremors, but also because a high-pitched tone that I hadn't noticed before began lowering its pitch before completely being muted at the same moment the cart came to a standstill.

"What's the occasion Boss?" A voice echoed from behind me.

Wanting to see who was talking and with my arms untied, I was finally able to turn the way we were facing by twisting my torso.

Facing the other direction, the first thing I noticed were more metal bars which I should have expected seeing, considering how I was in a cage. Behind the bars I was able to see the apparent driver looking back over my cage and at Jacob.

He looked very weird. He was mostly green, with red claws instead of paws and what looked like a mushroom on his head. I was able to see a pale green-brownish collar around his neck while his face was matching the same bright color. While I interestedly continued to look at him I noticed a tail matching the color of his face before ending in three dark green grassy lumps. What I was looking at was a Breloom and up until that point he must have been operating the machine he was standing next to.

"Help me get Quill out of his cage." I heard a sentence from the other direction coming from Jacob. And for the first time I actually felt happy. I wasn't thinking about how I was going to try to run away at that moment. No. - I was happy because I was finally going to get out of cage and was no longer going to be subjugated to the constant rocking of the cart. No more dizziness and no more feeling sick would I have to endure.

The Breloom jumped into the back of the cart a moment after and started talking.

"You want to let him out?" He asked while looking glancing at me.

Instead of answering with a simple yes or no, Jacob started to growl as he restated his intent while grinding his teeth.

"Help me get him out, Barry..." He said resulting in the Breloom, whose name apparently was Barry, to take a step back in fear, causing him to fall of the cart.

"Stop screwing around and HELP!" The Nidoking shouted after him in a tone much more fitting for the name I originally assign to him.

A frightful yelp could be heard from next to the carriage, as Barry re-entered the cart and hurried to get next to my cage without hesitating again.

"Unlock the cage and get him out of there. - But don't remove the chains on his feet. I want to keep my dear ol' friend Quill close."

Not even stopping to look at Jacob while he was talking, the Breloom instantly began his job and started to fiddle with the cage. I could hear the lock and the chains that previously held my arms rattle, before the top of the cage swung open and I was able to see the sky directly above.

While it was fairly clear and I could only see a couple of clouds, it didn't seem as bright as it did in the morning. And stretching my neck while searching the sky I didn't find the sun, meaning that the day must have already been reaching its end.

Barry intently continued his work on the cage. I tried to look at him while he was working, but even while I was looking him directly into his face, he did his very best to avoid having to make eye contact. And even though I could feel that he was just as afraid of Jacob as I was, if not even more, he did a very good job to hide his fear behind the bland facade of just doing his job.

Watching him ruffle with some of the chains holding down the cage to the back of the wagon, I felt a jolt and my legs were finally no longer bound to the edges of the cage. Only then did I realize how exhausting it must have been for my body to maintain the position I was held in, as another wave of ease overcame me and I couldn't help myself but to sigh in relieve.

Maybe just because he heard my sigh, or maybe because he was going to do so anyways, I noticed Jacob leaning over the edge of the opened cage and looking down on me as he began talking to me again. "You may have already connected the dots, but I'm not letting taking off those remaining chains before we reach the capital. You're going to stay right where you are and I'm just letting you out of the cage as a sign of good will."

Not actually having thought about the possibility of him constantly keeping an eye on me, I quickly gave a response as if I couldn't care less about still remaining somewhat bound to the cart.

'How am I going to escape if he'll keep me chained up?' I wondered to myself while simply shrugged my shoulders before the Nidoking extended his arms and started lifting me out of the cage.

As I was being lifted I tried to relax. But my body was beginning to stop listening to me. It didn't want to waste this chance of attacking the killer of my friend in the hopes of imparting its rightful revenge on the Monster. But it wasn't me who wanted to get the revenge. Not only because it wouldn't be the correct time for it, but also because there would have been no logical gain from attacking at that point.

Fueled by the suppressed rage and being the part of my body I still had the least amount of control over, I failed to foresee my ember flaring and flames started leaking out of my back.

The next thing I felt was being dropped again. The uncontrolled flames must have licked Jacob's knuckles as he jerks his arms sending me crashing to the ground of the carriage.

"What the hell, man?" The Nidoking responded, obviously confused about the meaning of my attack.

'Stupid body.' I thought to myself. 'I told you to relax; now see what you did!'

Actually managing to calm my blazing ember, I managed to get a breakthrough and began understanding how I could control it. My ember is mainly controlled by my emotions, but it doesn't just work like you might think it would. And while I can only speak for myself and I know it doesn't work the same for everyone, I realized that my ember has a lot of complexity to how it works.

The more I would let the flames build up, the harder it would before to stay in control over them. I knew that once I enraged the flame enough, it would continue to burn and grow until it was finally allowed to escape. But even though I did manage to delay that point of release until Monster grabbed me, it was something I couldn't just skip without complying with its demand for freedom.

You might argue that over time I learned how to control it better and actually have it die down without releasing it after already having reached much greater sizes, but I didn't have any clue about how to do so back then and was actually fairly proud that I already figured out the basics without even knowing about how it actually all worked.

"Sorry." I tried to explain myself a moment later as the revelation was no longer distracting my mind and I was able to continue without any troubles to find the correct words. Because I also learned that it works both ways: the brighter my ember is blazing, the less control I have over my actions as my emotions start to blur my vision before taking full control over my body.

"I..." I continue, deliberately stuttering to rectify my point.

"I can't control that..." I continued to lie, proud of how convincing I was sounding to myself.

And while my ember was sharing my pride, contently swaggering back into its regular, blissful size, this time it was Jacob who appeared to have started losing his patience.

Crunching his teeth, he did his best to uphold the lightheartedness that he was probably forced to fake when talking to.

Unaffected by the accident, the Breloom didn't take the chance to pause its job and finally finished unknotting the entangled chains before wasting no time and returning to the front the carriage, ready to receive the next order Jacob was going to give him.

"Ugh..." I can hear the Nidoking start to mumble as I was sitting on the floor of the wagon. Finally able to move all my muscles again, I was much closer to my goal but also knew that I was still a long ways away from reaching it.

My eyes followed the chains leading away from me and ending in a corner next to my old cage, thereby connecting my ankles with the carriage itself.

I quickly looked away from the cage as I already started to feel my ember spring back to life. My fur had dried u completely for some time and I started concentrating to prevent my flame from already reaching the point at which I could no longer control it.

"Let's get going again already!" Jacob shouts from the rear end of the wagon.

Interested and counting on the distraction it would serve for my fire, I turned around and looked at Barry, as he started operating the machine which immediately began producing the annoying tone again. Initially starting at a low frequency and quickly working its way up to the high-pitched buzzing tone I was already hearing when I was still held inside the cage.

Jacob must have followed my eyes and decided to take the opportunity to start talking to me again. And not mentioning my fiery slip-up he started a conversation that didn't seem to have a point at first.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" He began as I turned my head away from the Breloom to look back at him.

'Fascinating, huh?' I could feel my flame ironically and independently from me thinking. 'You know what else would be fascinating? - You minding your own damn business you piece of...'

Interrupting the hateful thoughts coming from my core and concentrating on not losing the trust I had gained thus far, I started to think how I was supposed to deal with my emotions. I could just continue to hold them back, but that would probably just end in another accident. And I knew that my previous excuse would only work for so long.

"I couldn't tell you how it works." I could hear the Nidoking continue its speech, trying to sound like he was intrigued himself. "As a matter of fact: nobody here could tell you. But don't worry: if you want to know, you can still find out..."

I didn't actually listen to his words, as I continued to wander about my emotions.

'Why are they running this wildly?' I was wondering to myself. 'I assume it is hatred, but why can't I control them any better.'

I continued to feel my ember blazing and growing bigger and bigger, like it already did when Jacob lifted me out of the cage.

"I said before that you are the holder of wisdom. But I don't expect you to know what that means..." Monster continued to talk while I didn't seem to come any closer to any sort of conclusion as the ember began licking my throat.

'Or is it trying to tell me something. After all: I'm dealing with instincts here. There might be something it wants me to do...'

But the beast didn't seem to care about my inner suffering. I didn't even care if he just acted like he wasn't caring, but without looking at him I could feel the smug on his face look over me as he continued to babble about nonsensical things like that engine.

-

"Seriously! Who did he think he was! That stupid piece of..."

"Daddy!" I get interrupt by Cari calmly pressing her paw against me. "You're blazing."

Snapping back from my story telling, I start noticing as well. Even though my back isn't throwing its flames into the air, I can see a few sporadic candle lights escaping, fueled by the pile of restrained emotions I just uncovered by retelling their story.

I take a deep breath, giving the fire room to expand like I was taught, before calming myself and exhaling it in small chunks of harmless flames licking around my muzzle.

Tolan lets go of me again and I notice Treek eyeballing me as well. After making eye contact, I give him a nod signaling that I've calmed down again.

"Your dad can sometimes get emotionally unstable when he has to remember Jacob." Treek tries to explain my actions before turning back towards the road again in order to carry on with his job.

Turning back towards my kids, Tolan tries to get me back on track.

"So did you blow you cover?" He asks.

'He doesn't understand what Treek is referring to when he says I'm having troubles with Jacob.' I think to myself while looking in the discontent and unconcerned face of my son.

"No..." I answer, tightly holding onto my feelings.

"He didn't even notice." I say, correcting my previous mistakes before I continue. "He didn't actually give me a smug face. Remembering it all with a clear mind, I think he was actually mesmerizing himself by all the fantastic talking about that orb engine."


	32. Ember

"You know: when we're at the palace you could try to get started by getting them to go faster."

Referring to the engine pulling the wagon, I finally felt like it was my time to start talking. And while continuing to wonder about my ember I started babbling nonsensical garbage about how I already had ideas on how to improve that thing I actually knew nothing about.

"Good idea. I've actually already got an idea on how to improve the flux displacement coil." I say while pointing at some random part of the machinery.

The Breloom seemed to start getting interested as well, as he ever so slightly started paying attention to me without actually looking like he wasn't working now that four eyes were directly at him.

"If I modulate the plasma directory, I could invigorate the drive banks while also completely cutting out the requirement of the ten-k buffer. - It should improve performance by at least seventeen percent."

'Wait.' I start to think to myself, as my mouth stopped moving. 'Not you. - You continue to babble nonsense.'

'I think I finally have an idea of what my fire is trying to tell me. You're telling me what you can do, aren't you.'

The feelings my ember was sending me changed and I knew that I was on the right track.

"Woah." Jacob responded, obviously pleased with my response as he continued with sparks in his eyes. "But don't tell me. I know nothing about that stuff. When we get to the palace we'll get you everything you need to start working right away."

'You're trying to remind me of the intrinsic knowledge I have about you.' I continued to think, acing the act of keeping my thoughts from showing up on my face. 'Fire is destructive if not controlled. And all I'm being held back by are metal chains. - Physical objects.'

And while considering the information I just came up with, I was starting to come up with a plan while my mouth continued to sugarcoat Jacob on its own. "I think I finally start to see what jerks those Koranians and Dararians are. - Especially Korana. The new world should definitely belong to us."

My thoughts started to formulate a plan. All I would have to do was to break the chain still binding me to the carriage. And all this time my flame was just trying to tell me how to do exactly that.

So while I carefully repositioned myself to grab ahold of the chain behind my back and out of the view of Jacob, he started talking to me again. "I think you're really getting it now. I was told you'd be smart, but I just guessed that you would only be knowledgeable about technology."

He took a short pause to give a hearty laugh before continuing to talk to me with a very satisfied voice. "But as it turns out, you're just as smart when it comes to tactics, because you're doing the right thing here."

At that moment the faked front I put up for him was beginning to break down. 'How stupid did he think I was?' I thought to myself, but decided to take his foolishness to my advantage and start concentrating on the chain I was concealing behind my back.

'What now, Ember?' I asked my body. 'How should I proceed from here? How are you planning on breaking the chain?'

I didn't have to wait a moment before my ember gave me my answer. 'Leave it to me. I know what to do!'

And so I let off of trying to comprehend what it was doing as I directed my conscious mind back at Jacob.

At this point he was leaning back without even paying attention to me. He seemed to be relaxing, probably assuming I was doing the same thing. After all: that was the reason he got me out of the cage in the first place. - As a sign of good faith and to spare me from having to endure the pains of the constant rattling.

Us fire types have an intrinsic problem with tremors. You might think that we'd only be afraid of the water or having the wind blow out our fire. But wind isn't a problem as the additional oxygen that a nice gust provides greatly outweighs the force pushing against it, assuming you're ember is healthy. You know what I mean: the stronger the wind, the easier it is for us to brighten our ember, thereby preventing it from being blown out. But tremors are different. They cause the same kind of sudden motion you might get from a strong current in the air, but without the added benefit of providing the necessary air we need to counteract the sudden movement.

So if a quake becomes too strong, our flame might actually skip a beat because it was ripped away from its source. I know you never had to endure something like that yet, but you can image it like removing the wick from a candle for just a moment. The flame will remain stationary where it was and will go out if the wick doesn't return a moment later. And when you blow out a candle it isn't the air that extinguishes it. No: you're removing the flame from the wick, killing it from no longer finding its source of energy.

Revelations continued to come to me as the carriage peacefully rattled over the road. Jacob was lying on his back in front of me, while I acted like I was leaning against the front of the wagon. I remained silent and while looking at the sky I wondered about myself, until I remembered the body I was given and decided to check up on what it was doing.

I wasn't wrong with my assumption and as soon as I analyzed its signals, I could feel heat radiating from the chains I was holding in my paws behind my back.

'Wow. How are you doing this?' I asked my ember.

'You know just as well as I do that I'm part of you. So just find out for yourself.' I received as a response.

And so I complied and continued to feel for what my body was doing.

The fire I already felt multiple times was no longer just in my belly. It felt like it had spread out through my arms, leaking out of the tips of my paws and directly being transferred into the chains.

It felt very weird and the weirdness only grew the longer I paid attention to it. The fire was still originating from my core located in the deepest parts of my torso, but it found a way to travel all the way through my limbs before reaching the chain.

I started to wander how many exit points for my fire to escape there were, as I started to get a feeling for the muscles that were in play for allowing the fire to reach its goal.

'No touchy.' I got as a response as I tried to manipulate the muscles. My body was already doing quite well on its own, but if an inexperienced mind like mine was going to tinker with it while it was doing its job, something might go wrong.

I let off of trying to control it consciously and decided to simply continued feeling for what was happening, like the ember originally suggested to me. The chains were starting to weaken and I could feel them becoming bendable when my body finally decided that the time had come to go to the next level.

Still eyeballing Jacob at that moment, I was just about to retake control and break one of the heated chain links, so I wouldn't be bound to the wagon any more, when Jacob started talking again.

Though startled, I managed to remain calm and decided not to break the link just yet.

"Hey driver!" He yelled over my head. "How much farther until we get somewhere?"

Not daring to step away from the engine, the Breloom answered while continuing to act like he was hard at work. "We'll reach our goal for today, Sariko, in a quarter an hour. We'll camp outside of town for the night and tomorrow we'll get the remained of the journey behind us and reach the capital."

"Saying it'll be a quarter hour would have been enough..." The Nidoking grumbled while leaning back again as I came up with a plan.

'I guess I'll have a good chance of escaping once we'll reach that Sariko place. Tonight when they're sleeping, I'll be taking my leave.'

I already noticed before, but the wagon had hooks on its sides to allow a roof to be attached. And not seeing the roof lying in the back with me and Jacob, I assumed it was probably mounted to the underside of the carriage. They probably decided on a one-in-all solution so they wouldn't have to risk moving me for the night.

'But they didn't count on me melting the chain.' I thought to myself as I finally started to feel the chain becoming bendable enough. 'Thanks ember.' I thanked my core before seizing control over my body and bending the link open, thereby creating a little hook I could use to make it look like I was still chained while actually being able to unhook it in a moment's notice.

Neither Jacob nor Barry had been paying enough attention to realize that I've broken the chain. And while a part of the chain was still bound to my ankles, I wouldn't be able to get rid of that part until after I made my escape.

It had gotten much darker when Jacob's body moved the next time. After successfully breaking the chain I had been sitting motionlessly, waiting for the next thing to happen. Not being watched by him, I decided to drop the nice act I was giving to Jacob and instead was staring at the ground while in deep thought.

Jacob had offered me another apple in the meantime, but I rejected his offer without even thinking about it. And even if I had thought about it, I would have probably rejected it as well because the only thing I was able to think about whenever he came too close to me, was the injustice he had imparted on Treek. - The poor soul. Even though I didn't know him for too long at the time, I knew him more than anyone else in this world. He was the first thing I could call a friend.

I felt the rage my flame had previously held over his death slowly turning into sorrow. An emotion most unpractical for flaring any ember, and with the small candle light my fire had shrunken into, I began feeling the bumps in the road once more before I was ripped out of my thoughts when the wagon began slowing down with Barry announcing that we had reached our goal for the day.

And looking up I could see the Nidoking rise, with the last of the day's sun drowning behind him on the horizon.


	33. Race The Clock

"Psht. Sorry to interrupt you, but someone's coming." Treek says while ripping me out of my story telling trance.

I immediately stop talking and prick my ears to listen for what Treek is referring to.

He's right though. I can hear some voices yelling from the distance and they seem to be coming closer by the second.

Looking over to Treek pressing against the flat roof of the storage building near the border, I can see him signaling me to come over.

After taking another look at Cari and Tolan, I gesture them to stay where they are before starting to sneak over to Treek.

"What is it? What do you want me to see?" I whisper to him while joining him in peaking over the edge.

"There. On the left." He whispers back while nodding down the street.

The street is very straight. With the city being a planned city build when the new world wasn't discovered yet, it does quite a good job of living up to the highly esteemed metropolis it was once called. The abandoned industrial district we are in was built to have a direct path leading towards the trade district, which still finds some use even nowadays.

I immediately think of Nina, as I look down the road. The voices in the distance appear to be coming from that trade district. I can't make out any species yet, but I can already tell that they are upset about something. And while the voices talking still cannot be understood, I do begin understanding what they are doing: they appear to be chasing someone.

While nearing ever more, I notice a Raticate running away from an angry mob of 'mons chasing it. From time to time it has to juke the various elemental beams fired at it from behind, while having more and more troubles of keeping its distance from the crowd.

A Gabite leading the group of chasers fires a Dragon Rage attack at the rat, actually hitting its flank. But the beam passes straight through its body while leaving a gaping hole in the creature which doesn't seem to mind being wounded.

'Probably because it's not really wounded. - That must be Nina.' I think to myself as I carefully turn towards Treek, making sure not to move too much and gain the attention of any of them. Although they are still pretty far away, I don't want to risk having them notice us on top of the building.

Looking at Treek, he looks back to me with an annoyed face. He must be thinking the same thing I'm thinking about.

'We explicitly told her not to lead anyone here.' I grumble in thought, letting my facial expression transmit the idea to Treek.

Treek frowns as a response and looks back at the angry mob coming closer and closer towards us while slowly starting to catch up to the running Zorua disguised as a Raticate. I follow his example and look back at the street to monitor the crowd running after the Zorua.

Seeing the fox running, I watch as the illusion of the rat we so carefully modeled slowly starts to break down.

The mob is now extremely close now, causing Treek and I to inch away from the rim a bit in an attempt to stay out of view. Though we are still able to trace Nina as she runs by the storage building we are hiding on top of, not daring to glance at it and raise any suspicions.

Within the duration of only a moment, I could have sworn to see something leap out from the rat and hide in the shadows of the buildings lining an alleyway across the street from the storage building.

But the Raticate illusion remains and continues to run down the road. Yet only for a few moments before it mysteriously vanishes into thin air.

Another second later, the angry mod arrives. I can see the confusion written into their faces as they don't understand what just happened.

I count half a dozen 'mons in total, as I hear them shouting at each other, trying to find out what happened.

"Where did he go?" A Raichu is yelling.

I can see a Persian looking around the area and causing Treek and me to inch away from the rim even further, before the cat tries to answer the Raichu's question. "He couldn't have gone far."

"But he just vanished in midair!" A Munchlax inserts confusedly. He looks familiar and I think it is the same 'mon we previously saw scaring away Nina when she was the Rattata, before almost discovering us hiding in his storage.

"He must have had an accomplice." A Roselia says, only now catching up to the group while carefully readjusting her roses. "Raticates can't learn moves they could use to transport. There but be a psychic nearby who transported him."

"You seem to know an awful lot about this, Rosery." A Marshtomp growls angrily at her. And while walking up to the grass type he continues. "You're in on this, aren't you?"

"Yeah!" the Raichu shouts while joining the Marshtomp in his accusations. "You always act so sweet but this wouldn't have been the first time you tried to ruin our businesses."

"Guys?" The Gabite tries to get the attention of the others. And while the Raichu grabs onto the Roselia attempting to defend herself without anyone listening to her, the dragon continues to speak to the group. "If she had this planned, there could be more robbers taking our stuff right now!"

"Damn!" The Marshtomp says, immediately breaking off from the group and starting running back the way he came from, closely shortly followed by the Persian dashing after him.

With no doubt on anyone's mind, nobody seems to mind the fact that the Roselia probably didn't have anything to do with it. But while nobody is listening to her pleads, the Raichu shows no pity and continues to hold onto her, not even paying attention when some rose petals starts breaking off due to the firm grip he's imparting on the struggling grass elemental.

"Let me go!" The captive says. "You're letting the real criminal get away. I didn't do anything; he stole from me as well!"

"Oh no!" The Raichu reaffirms himself and the remaining other 'mons. "We already let the ~real~ criminal get away one too many times in the past. This time you're not getting off the hook that easily."

"We see right through you." The Marshtomp laughs right in her face.

"Yeah!" The Gabite exclaims, joining the Marshtomp in his accusations. "I bet we'll find all our stuff if we'll simply go through hers for a change."

"No! You're a bunch of idiots!" The Roselia yells against while the Raichu carelessly ruffles her roses. "The Raticate must still be around here. And I won't let you go through my stuff!"

While the Raichu starts to drag Rosery back towards where they came from, he continues to talk with her. "Says who? Why should we not go through your stuff? Maybe because you've got something to hide?"

"No!" The Roselia stutters. "I... I... I don't have anything to hide."

Finding a grip on her voice again, she continues. "But that would be illegal. You can't just go into my home and start going through my stuff!"

"So who's gon'na stop us, huh?" The Munchlax asks, walking up to the front of the group. "I don't think the ~law~ is something you're concerned with, thief!"

The voices start to get out of view, as I start to understand less and less of the defenses the Roselia tries to come up with. I've started to get the feeling that Rosery truly does have something to hide in her home. And while she didn't have anything to do with this crime, she probably will have to pay tenfold or more for the supplies that Nina must have stolen from each of them.

'Nina!' I think to myself. 'Where's Nina?'

Looking away from the disappearing group dragging the grass type behind them, I look back at Treek.

Before I can say something, he starts talking. "Wow. Wasn't that something?" He says astonished.

"Yeah." I respond. "But where did Nina go? 'Cus that was definitely our Raticate."

Treek doesn't respond and instead starts staring across the street. Following his eyes, I look across the road as well and begin noticing movement in the shadows of any alley.

A few moments later I can see a Zorua holding her head around the corner of a building across the street. She is carrying the small bag Treek had given her before she left. It's not the big bag he is still carrying around his shoulders right now, but one of the smaller ones he has stored inside of the big one.

From where I am looking, it appears to be filled with goodies.

Looking up and down the street I can't see another threat anywhere, leading me to conclude that we are alone once again. But before I can make contact with Nina myself, a voice starts yelling from on top of the roof.

"Nina!" Cari shouts across the street, surprising everyone involved.

I don't know how much of what happened she watched, but I do know that what she is doing right now is extremely dangerous. In shock over her careless approach to communications, I grab ahold of her and push her back down to the ground.

"Psht!" I whisper to her. "Don't give away our position."

The regret sets back in immediately. But as I carefully peak across the railing again, I can see the smiling face of Nina look at me from across the street.

"What are you guys doing up there?" She asks.

"No!" She continues, not giving us a chance to respond. "Wrong start. If you want to get out of town while you still can, you guys have to come with me ~right now~!"

After a moment of processing what she just said, Treek and I inch closer to the edge of the roof.

"Hello to you, too." Treek greets her as I interrupt him.

"Why do we have to come with you? What's the deal?"

"I checked out the train station like you asked." She begins. "Not only is the last outgoing cargo train for the next week leaving in half an hour, but I heard some 'mons talking about the military expecting reinforcements that are to arrive ~today~!"

In a saddened tone, she continues. "I'm sorry. I didn't know about the reinforcements. They must have decided to request them after locking me up."

My head starts to spin immediately, but I already know what the answer has to be. With no other way to get far enough away in time before the reinforcements would arrive, we have to make it on that train before it departs.

So wasting no time what-so-ever, I turn around to face everyone. "We have to go now. If Nina's correct, then we're running out of time. Every second counts."

In the haste of the moment, I decide to take the quick route from the roof and walk up to the edge. The building really isn't very tall and readjusting my hat before the act, I jump off and gracefully land on my feet.

With a drop of possibly less than two meters, Treek immediately follows after me. And looking back up to the roof, I can see Tolan and Cari inching towards the edge.

Wasting no time, I walk up to the building and position myself to catch them.

"You have to jump as well." I say, trying to encourage them. "We have no time for you to take the ladder down."

"I'm scared..." Tolan whimpers. "I don't want to jump."

Cari on the other paw immediately goes ahead and jumps. And while I'm not standing where she is leaping off to, I can see her gracefully being landing on top of Treek.

"Hnn." Treek hisses in pain while pressing his teeth against each other, as he quickly sets her down and starts shaking the arms she landed on.

'Good thing Treek was there to sacrifice some burns and prevent us from having to deal with another broken arm or worse.'

Looking back up at Tolan anxiously trekking up and down the rim of the roof, I try to expand on my explanation of jumping. "It would really help if you would try to aim for me instead of Treek. I promise I'll catch you. And we don't have time for being afraid right now."

I watch as Tolan collects all the courage he has before closing his eyes and walking off the edge.

'Why don't these kids ever listen to me? - You were supposed to aim for me, not for the concrete.' I think to myself while dashing towards where Tolan is falling to. Fortunately being very close to that point, my reflexes are fast enough and I catch him before he would have hit the ground.

After gracefully setting him down, I instantly spin around and state the next plan.

"Nina!" I start, wasting no time. "Give the bag of supplies to Treek. - He'll carry them in his bigger bag."

As she hands the bag to Treek, I continue. "I need you to carry Cari on the way towards the station." Turning to Cari I continue. "Don't argue about being able to do so yourself. Because I don't think you could even keep up if your leg was fine."

Not waiting for any responses, I turn to Treek as I continue. "Treek. Do you know a route to the station that can get us there in under half an hour without being seen?"

"Maybe. - I know a route, but it's going to be close."

"Good." I simply respond. "Then let's get going right now!"

Nobody has to be told twice and I drop down to all fours next to Tolan before explaining his part. "Come on Tolan. Hop on! You wouldn't be able to keep up on your own either."

I already watch as Treek starts heading down the dark alley Nina was hiding in before, with Nina carrying Cari following directly after him.

I wait another moment as I can feel Tolan climb on top of me before I waste no time myself and start dashing after the others.

"Hold on tight." I say to him after having reached max speed a moment later.

"Ah! wait." He shouts from behind me.

"You have to find some grip, Tolan. - Just grab a strand of my fur and make sure you don't fall off."

I can feel his tiny claws dig into the fur on my bag as I display my agility by jumping over a stray barrel lying in the middle of the road.

The others are just a few meters ahead of me and I can see Treek turning his head from time to time, making sure we don't get separated.

We pass by many different rundown buildings. Not looking like factory buildings any more, their condition appears to progressively decrease the more time passes while we continue to walk.

As we pass by a building that appears to have a fully matured tree growing out of its side, Treek stops in front of a corner and peeks around.

Nina and I come to a stop directly behind him and Tolan finally gets a chance to readjust his position on my back and I can feel him sliding closer towards my neck and is now grabbing me by the shoulders.

A moment later, Treek starts dashing around the corner and down the alley he just peeked into. He must have made sure that nobody is going to cross paths with us while we walk through.

Leaving the house with the tree sticking out the side of it behind, I can feel Tolan grabbing on more tightly, as I dash around the corner myself in order to head after Treek.

The street we are on right now is a bit bigger than the previous one. We must currently be in the residential district of Kossary. - Or what remains of it. Abandoned and bordered up buildings fly by as I duck and dash around the various relicts of this towns glorious past filling the street.

I almost fail to jump over an upset wooden cart missing all of its wheels. One of my hind legs gets snagged up on its side, but my reflexes manage to pull it out fast enough to prevent me from tripping and possibly breaking a bone from the speed we are travelling at.

The street is brightly lit up as it is built in parallel to the path the sun takes on its daily pass over the city. The ground itself is paved with cobblestone and from time to time I notice a pair of trees lining the sides of the road.

'A long time ago, this probably used to be quite the nice avenue.' I think to myself as we pass by a group of buildings that appear to have completely collapsed over time, only leaving behind a pile of rubble.

'I guess that would be why Treek didn't even consider us spending the night in the residential district...' I think to myself, narrowly avoiding getting my foot stuck on a crack running across the street.

'I've got to pay more attention to where I'm going.' I think to myself, deciding to stay alert to the environment as I continue to follow Treek dashing down the street.


	34. Departure

We've been running down the same street for what feels like ages now. Treek definitely didn't take the shortest route to get to the station. But I wouldn't have wanted him to, anyways. It's better for us to remain undetected, than to take the direct route and unnecessarily risk being detected.

Treek finally comes to a stop and Nina and I get a chance to catch our breaths. I watch as he peeks around another corner connecting the avenue with another street.

As we wait, my eyes my eyes fall on a sign mounted to the wall of a building on the other side of the street Treek is planning on heading down. Although the building looks extremely run down, making me think it might be collapsing in just a few moments, I can still read what it says.

It simply states ~Business District~ in bold, capital Unown letters.

I feel a bit more relieved because our goal, the Kossary train station, is located within that district.

But my relaxation is cut short, as Treek wastes no more time and starts dashing forward again.

The buildings of this district don't look too different from the ones in the residential district. They're just a bit bigger, without giving the appearance of palaces or factory buildings. No: mostly being constructed out of a single material, they look bland and just as run down as the rest of the city.

'It's actually a wonder that the train station is still being used from time to time.' I start thinking to myself while heading after Treek. 'But I guess the few 'mons still keeping the trade district going need to get their supplies from somewhere.'

Although Kossary really can't be compared to what it used to be before the war really started to take its toll, the few 'mons still keeping their shops open represent the last thing you could call a supply route for both Lamborgy and Lavary.

Smiling at my own thoughts, I continue to ponder. 'Who knows? Those 'mons we saw earlier may have been all the citizens left in the whole town...'

I stop my thoughts as Treek seems to come to a stop again already. We are standing at the edge of an abandoned plaza. Taking a look at it, I can see a lot of garbage lining the street. But I can also make out a clear path that seems to have been cut through the middle of it, thereby connecting the station that should be to our right with the trade district which we could reach if we continued to head left.

Treek turns around and starts hastily talking with us.

"I don't know how much time we've still got left, but..." He stops to recollect himself. "Doesn't matter... You'll have to be extra careful, because this part of the city isn't abandoned. So there is a chance of us actually crossing paths with someone."

Similar to me before, he doesn't wait for any responses from us before turning back towards the plaza and starting to plot the path we would continue to take.

A moment later he starts dashing forward again, this time heading towards where the train station and the train that hopefully hasn't already departed.

'Well...' I think to myself. 'It won't be waiting. So we better hurry.'

Shaking the distracting thoughts aside again, I continue to follow Treek.

The road we are walking now is paved just like the roads in the residential district. And while I don't have to dodge any more obstacles lying in the way, I know that we are running a very big risk in using a main street like this.

With the clear road ahead, Treek, Nina and I can run faster than before. But with the increased speed my legs are starting to hurt. Not because they're not used to me running for an extended period of time, but because Tolan still clinging to my neck is starting to feel heavier and heavier.

But not wanting to risk slowing down, I ignore my body's fatigue and continue to rush behind the other, thinking that they don't have it any better than I do.

'Treek's carrying all the supplies we've got left and Nina's chauffeuring Cari on her bag.' I think trying to motivate myself. 'And she's just a kid, so she should be having even more trouble than I do.'

Luckily though, I can finally see the station coming into view.

"I hope we're not too late." I can hear a voice coming from above me. "Sorry I hesitated before jumping from the roof."

"Now is not the time Tolan." I yap between by rapid gasps for air, as I continue to tail Treek and Nina heading towards the building.

The station, or what used to be the station, is a structure near the center of Kossary's Business district. It used to be a station for both 'mons and cargo, designed to handle any kind of train, may it be powered by orbs, manual labor or the elemental forces of water or fire. It once had the capacity to handle dozens of trains arriving and departing from other such stations in the south. But nowadays you can count yourself lucky if you can get a glimpse of any kind of train. There are no schedules. All the trains that are entering and leaving are specially chartered for a one-way trip, meaning that you need to find some other 'mons willing to pool their poké to help you get where you need to go.

When Treek came here a couple of days ago, he must have gotten lucky with a train heading here. And while it probably was just a cargo train, he still didn't have to walk.

'That; or he did actually have to walk.' I think to myself. 'But it shouldn't matter.'

I continue to head after the others. Treek isn't heading for the main entrance, but that was to be expected. The main building has become too unsafe to actually be entered as most of the once sturdy looking pillars holding up its roof have collapsed, causing a good portion of the station to collapse.

Nina didn't specify what kind of train it was that was going to leave town. And while my body is craving for a nice and comfortable passenger train, offering a nice, comfortable and most important of all shock absorbent nest just for me, I'm really just hoping for anything that would allow us to make a clean escape.

We reach around the side of the building where we can see the promised train sitting on the tracks. The tracks reach underneath the station building where they once allowed passengers to enter the trains simply by heading down to the appropriate platform.

Looking at the train I can count three wagons, all dedicated to cargo with a container resting on each of them. But what actually manages to surprise me, is the fact that this trains appears to be orb powered.

'How can anyone afford to use an Orb powered train?' I wonder to myself, as Treek stops behind a bush next to the path leading down to the rails.

He must have wondered about the same thing, but unlike me he already must have reached a conclusion and starts whispering to Nina. "Are you sure that reinforcements haven't already arrived." He asks her. "Because that train is definitely powered by Orbs. And last I heard only the military can still afford those."

Not wanting to waste time, Nina walks up to him. Cari seems to have been enjoying the piggyback ride given to her once again. And while she almost seems to smile, I can see a worried look in Nina's face before she begins to speak.

"I don't know. But that train looks like it's just about to head out."

'She's right.' I think to myself as I peek out of the bush we are hiding behind.

I watch as what I can only assume to be the train operator, a Zangoose, enters the front of the train and starts activating the machinery.

I grab the attention of the others, and while the low buzzing noise produced by the activation of an Orb Engine starts filling the air I begin to talk.

"We have to go ~now~." I whisper to Nina and Treek arguing, emphasizing the urgency of the request. "We've only got a few more seconds before it'll be departing."

Unlike before, I actually take the time and wait for them to nod a confirmation of my statement. But afterwards I immediately turn back towards the train and start running down the slope and towards it, hoping that no one would see me dash from one piece of shrubbery to the next, but knowing that it is a risk I would have to take.

As I reach the train with Treek directly behind me, it is already starting to move, producing a lot of noise while doing so.

Heading straight towards the closest wagon, I take no precautions as I jump onto the back and land in the small gap between the container and the end of the wagon.

Finally overcome with a feeling of being safe, I can't hear anything but the loud squeaking of the train accelerating towards my freedom.

I can feel Tolan tugging on my neck, probably being happy just as me and I decide to let him have his wish to be let down.

So I turn around to let him grab onto something instead of being held over the side of the train, as I can see Treek jumping onto the train, slowly turning his head while in mid-flight.

'Something isn't right here!' I yell in my head, blending out the cries of steel against steel from the train.

Time almost appears to have come to a standstill and as I look past Treek, I can see what is causing my head to race.

Nina has fallen and even worse: she isn't alone anymore as I can see a Houndoom pressing his paws down on Nina's body, while she slowly struggles to get herself free. But worse yet: the Houndoom is holding a Cyndaquil in its maw. Even if the identity of the Cyndaquil wasn't clear from the wooden plank strapped to its right arm, I would have still known that it was Cari.

Treek was right and I should have considered the possibility of a trap. And even if it isn't a trap, which it probably isn't seeing how I am already on the train to freedom, I should have never just sprinted into danger, not thinking of my kids and friends.

Time returns to normal speed, as the Houndoom starts roaring words loud enough to drown out the noise of the train.

"Cyder!" It yells in a familiar voice, thereby making it clear to everyone that it knows who I am. "Let's make a deal!" The voice says once again and I finally recognize it as the same voice that gave the order to destroy my den. I never asked Nina about the identity of her old boss, but from the looks of it I won't have to.

With time finally back to its normal speed I get knocked to the side, barely able to keep myself from falling off of the small maintenance platform I'm on in the back of the train.

I can feel my new hat falling off and watch as it continues to roll off the moving train, landing on the track behind us while we continue to move away faster and faster.

"No Cyder!" Treek yells in my ear as time seems to slow down again, thereby stretching my name into a muffled and long winded tone.

I know that time isn't really slowing down. It's my racing head which is slowing down my perception of the world while, processing everything happening more than thrice as fast.

"Not this time!" I yell at Treek pressing down on me. I know he only wants to save me, because he thinks that above all else I have to remain on the loose. The last time he did what is about to happen again, he told me that keeping me safe above all else is his main goal. Last time I told him that there are thinks more important to me than keeping my freedom, or even my life. But he doesn't have kids of his own and never fell in love, so back then he failed to understand my feelings as well. But even though I completely understand what he was going through his head then and what he must be thinking again right now, I was never able to forgive him for leaving behind my wife.

'And it's not going to happen again!' I think to myself, as I channel the little bit of ember I'm able to come up with in a moment's notice into my mouth before starting to feel the tips of my teeth catching on fire.

With my perception still slowing down time, it takes an eternity before my mouth finally opens, only to have it be closed again after moving it over Treek's arm holding me to the ground of the maintenance platform.

I don't bite down with all my force, but the affect is instantaneous as Treek withdraws him arm fast enough to almost make me think that my perception of time has returned to normal.

The pain must be great, as his face changes its expression to convey the discomfort while some reflex in his brain commands his other arm to hold onto the fresh wound.

While being distracted, it lets go of the bag the Treecko was still holding at this point and I watch as its lid slowly open while falling.

My brain follows the happenings interestedly, as my eyes overlook the Orbs I had given to him yesterday.

I don't have to decipher which is which, with the Quick Orb being the one still intact enough to even be considered in working order by someone not as knowledgeable as I am.

A plan starts to form in my head, and in what must have been a millisecond in real time, I have an idea that could save everyone. And it is fairly simple, as all I have to do is allow my body to match the speed by brain is running at.

'And this orb is exactly what I need to achieve that.' I think to myself as my arms slowly start moving towards the bag before my paws grab ahold of the orb a moment later.

Wasting no time, I initiate the next phase of my plan and throw the orb against the container next to me, watching as it slowly travels through the air before finally hitting the metal and splintering into shards.

Being the one closes of the point of activation, the orb only starts to affect me as my body finally joins my brain in its speed of perception.

Treek is still in the act of moving backwards and I'm still lying where I've fallen after he pushed me to the ground. But not wanting to waste the time I just gave myself, I stand up and step of the train.

It is movement is extremely slow, as I jump on the ground and take a look at it.

Treek hasn't noticed my absence yet, as his speed of perception is just as slow as everyone else's.

I turn around and see my hat lying on the rails, and looking beyond I can see the Houndoom standing only a few meters behind, still holding Cari in its maw while holding Nina to the ground. Her eyes are closed and her face is twisted from her efforts of trying to press against the paw holding her.

I pick up the hat and throw it in the direction of the train. Moving my arm and letting go of the hat, it seemingly stops mid-air the moment I let go of it, but I know that this trajectory will let it land on the train sooner or later.

Turning back towards the Houndoom, I see that he is still focused on where I was lying only a moment ago. I can see Cari slowly crying out for help, as she is held in the mouth of the dog without any chance of escaping on her own.

'It won't be long before he realizes what happened. And with my body running at the same speed as my brain I'm already wasting time again, just thinking about it.'

Only driven by instincts, my ember is shouting out in fright and anxiety. It's yelling at me to either attack or flee and leave everyone behind, but my mind is able to stay in charge and soberly continue to work without the emotional distraction.

So I proceed with the next part of my plan, and finally letting the anxiety that was begging me to do so for what seems like minutes at this point flood through my body, I start charging towards the Houndoom.

'I can't use a fire type attack. Not just because the fire would travel in real time once outside of my body, but because the Houndoom would probably be resistant to them.'

I continue running towards the dog. And even though I'm moving in a much faster frame of reality, I seem to have trouble accelerating.

'I hope the Orb isn't already running out of power.' I think to myself, being reminded of the fact that it was already damaged before I activated it, meaning that some of its energy may have already been released.

I finally reach the dog and smash against him with all the force I can muster. In my perception I still managed to hit him with a speed I would consider fast enough to cause some damage.

But the impact was harder than I expected. With the difference in time, my shoulder receives a good portion of the force as I get knocked back and barely catch myself while watching the dog slowly getting the air knocked out of him.

I await my chance to pull Nina out from under his foot. And as he slowly tries to gasp for fresh air, I find my opportunity to pull Cari out of his maw.

'Time is definitely starting to speed up again.' I find myself thinking, as I start holding Cari in my arms while trying to drag Nina with me towards the accelerating train.

The muffled sounds of the train start to get louder again and I can start to understand voices again.

"*cough* Where do you think you are going?" I can hear a somewhat distorted voice coming from behind me.

I finally start to receive Nina and Cari's, as I continue to hold Cari in my arms while doing my best to dash towards the back of the train where I can still see Treek staring at me in vain, completely distracted from his arm but still showing a pain distorted face.

"GO!" I yell at Nina, elongating the word and saying it slowly, hoping that it would overcome whatever is still remaining of the difference in time between us.

But before I can blink my eyes even one more time, something hits me in the back. My heartbeat loudly echoes twice in my ears, before the slow-moving world around me skips a beat and everything blinks to black in an instant.

 _## - End of Season 3 - ##_

 _Author Note:_  
 _Wow! This was a really long one (when compared to the previous two). But the next season is definitely going to take a bit longer, because I won't be having too much time for writing now that the next semester is starting. And I can't be making any promises about its length either (right now I've written ~40000 words, covering ~3/5 of its plot)._  
 _But don't worry. I'm still having just as much fun writing this as I had when I originally began._  
 _PS: Sorry for the cliffhanger._  
 _PPS: Not really sorry ^w^._

 _So stay tuned and don't forget to leave your feedback! Just review to your heart's content. (^w^)_


	35. Out Of Mind

_Authors Note:_  
 _Welcome back to the fourth season of PMD - Holders._  
 _This season features chapters #35 - #64 and consists of ~85000 words. I'll be uploading with the usual schedule of one chapter per day._  
 _This one took me forever to finish and I'm sorry you had to wait this long, but university and work still keep on taking up all my time. But it's finally done and I sure hope you're going to enjoy reading it._  
 _Fanfiction: www¸fanfiction¸net/u/7545584_  
 _Deviantart: www¸grieferatwork¸deviantart¸com_

 _So dig in and enjoy reading the emotional roller coaster that is season four._

"We could have saved her!"

Everything is black and tears leak through my closed eyes lids...

"It was too late!" I can hear Treek trying to explain himself.

"NO!" I shout back. "You're lying..."

-

I blink and I can see blurred shadows dancing around me, jumping in speed as time itself starts to appear distorted and everything is drowned out by a constant beeping sound that changes its frequency together with the speeds the world is jumping between.

One of the shadows start talking, cutting through the monotone sound enveloping the whole world: "Cyder's hit!"

The voice is being distorted just like everything else, and I fail to recognize its speaker while only one question brushes my mind.

'Where am I ...?' I wonder, as I blink once and close my eyes again.

-

Empty space is all around me and only blackness can be seen. I believe my eyes are open again, but I can't see myself and trying to blink isn't making a difference.

A voice can be heard seemingly talking from everywhere at once.

"I can't let you pass."

I try to respond to the disembodied voice and ask who it is, but as I try to open my mouth and find that I have none, the blackness surrounding me inverts and changes into a clear bright and uninterrupted white.

I try to squeeze my eyes, but the white remains burned into the back of them.

-

Another voice starts talking and every syllable it pronounces is stretched over an eternity, changing its pitch during every passing moment.

"Cy..."

The voice is extremely loud and I try to block it out, but I can't seem to move my paws, nor am I able to see them through the absolute white. With every moment it gets louder and louder, distracting me by forcing my head to think about nothing but how I could make it stop.

"der..."

The voice cuts off unexpectedly, leaving everything in silence as the whiteness surrounding me starts joining in on the distortions of everything else. The pure white starts smoldering like a clean piece of paper held into a flame and embers start spreading like wildfire all across its surface. I watch as small chunks of it start to crumble and fall into the endless abyss below.

As the world of white burns down, the walls containing it try to shrink and move towards me. But I'm not afraid. I know that the walls don't intend to harm me. - Unlike usual, it is fire that means to do me harm.

I regain a body, only to have it shiver in fear as I shrink into a tiny pile of misery floating in empty space, as the walls carry the fire towards me.

But before they are even able to reach me, the fire spreads faster and soon I cannot see a single chunk of white not burning and crumbling into the infinite depth.

Everything is ablaze, but the flames are not my friends. I didn't create this fire. I did not wish for the inferno. The burning is destroying my world while I am still within, cowering away and trying to safe from it.

Soon after, the last chunk catches fire and continues to crumble away.

-

A voice breaks through as the last bits are almost burned away. And I can hear it talking clearly to me, saying only one sentence while the time has stopped and the flames on the last bit world are frozen.

"You're not done yet."

-

The flames disappear and the tiny piece of the once so proud wall explodes into a shower of sparkles. And while starting to glow weakly, they spray into all directions, passing straight through my imaginary body and remaining where the pure white walls once stood.

The stars are no longer burning, but the light they provide isn't nearly comparable to the blinding brightness that once flooded my existence, when the pure white walls were still there shining, but they are still enough to give me hope. And I know they will grow and in time resemble the once proud standing wall reaching infinitely into the depths and skies.

-

I can start to hear voices again. Voices talking to me, yelling words most likely meant for my ears. But I cannot find the strength to comprehend what they are saying. Nor do I know who they are, before the stars disappear and everything cuts to black again.

-

"There was still time! Why did you have to rip me away from her?" I yell out while keeping my eyes closed, feeling the tears run down my cheeks. I don't even know if they are tears of anger, fear or grief.

My ember had taken full control over my body and I am an innocent bystander, looking at my actions only driven by emotions. But I let it happen. I am so devastated that I think even my scientific and emotionless mind is starting to gain its own feelings of grief.

"She was gone." Treek yell back at me. "There was no way to bring her back. You had the plans for the cave and you know just as well as I do how deep that lava basin went. It was off the map, so it could very well be leading straight to the core of the planet."

"I don't care!" I sob while shouting the words. Flames must be leaking out of my muzzle and I can feel Tolan and Cari falling off my head as I lift it to yell where Treek should be standing.

I can hear gasps of pain as I must have hit Treek with my fiery breath while yelling. But I couldn't care less about hurting him, as I don't think I could bring myself to feel sorry for him.

Treek stops trying to talk to me and I can hear another voice speak up. It is Stormcloud talking, trying to comfort me. She speaks in a calm and caring voice and I can't bring myself to ignore her words like I am doing with the things Treek wants to say.

"Cyder. I'm so sorry." She begins.

I sob loudly, interrupting her as she patiently waits for me to stop and be able to listen to her again.

"Believe me I know what you're going through right now..."

I want to interrupt her. I want to tell her that she couldn't possible know how it feels to lose someone that important. - To never be able to talk to them again, while knowing that they will never be there again when you need someone to open your heart to. But I neither find the strength to speak again, nor could I find myself comfortable with interrupting her.

"I lost my brother during one of their raids on our village. - I know what it feels like and I know that you don't know what to do with yourself."

Even though I didn't interrupt her with another loud sob, she pauses a moment to give me some time for processing what she just said.

I already knew about the attack on her village. She even told me about the demise of her brother, but she never talked about how it must have felt for her to go through such a loss.

I think about what she said. 'It is horrible to make anyone have to go through something like this.' I say to myself, trying to calm my emotions by telling them they are not alone. But the distraction only lasts for a moment before when my core retakes control over my mind and the grief settles back in, blocking every surfacing thought of my usually calm and reasonable mind.

Stormcloud gives me some more time, but when I don't start to settle down she starts speaking again. "I'd try to hug you, but I don't think you'd enjoy it."

I don't know if she was trying to comfort me with a joke, or if she honestly considered hugging a fire type, but I can once again feel my cubs clinging to my ears and climbing my face in an attempt to make physical contact.

I still think the Vaporeon is standing next to me, but after a while my racing mind is confronted with another distraction. My eyes are still closed, so I didn't see her leave. But now I can hear Treek talking with her a few meters away.

"He would have killed Lydia in every situation. She was just the bait and if I hadn't gotten us out of there, he would have captured Cyder as well."

I act like I'm not able to hear their conversation. But I wouldn't call it acting, as my feelings are true and only a minimal portion of my mind is actually paying attention to their discussion.

Stormcloud responds to Treek and tries to calm him down as well. "It's not me who is blaming you. You did the right thing by getting us out of there when you did, but you have to look at it from Cyder's perspective."

She continues to talk very silently and the part of my head paying attention is having trouble to understand her through the constant whimpering produced by my confused ember.

"The only way he can cope with the loss is to have someone to assign the blame to. In the way he sees it, you left his wife behind when he thought there was still a chance to safe her. And if we hadn't left, he'd think that she's still alive even now."

I try to distract my ember with the presence of my charming cubs snuggling against my fur, but the flame only responds by further suppressing my logical mind.

"But can't he see how there was no other way?" Treek continues the conversation with Stormcloud. "He never fails to consider or comprehend a logical solution."

"You don't know how it feels like." Stormcloud responds with the calm and caring voice. "You might be his closest friend, but you've never know what it feels like to love. You don't have any idea what love can make you do; how it can make you feel about someone. But while I'm not saying that what you did was illogical or wrong, I am saying that you can never know how you made him feel. And even if things return to normal after a while, he will never forget the price he thinks you made him pay."

I try to keep my ember from knowing about the conversation I've been eavesdropping on, but it has become suspicious of what my mind was trying to hide from it. And using its strength against me, it has no problem to learn about everything I've heard.

My body stands up again and finally opens his eyes. I'm in our team's headquarters at the guild of the eastern mountain range. With Dararu mostly having kept out of the war between the other nations, it is the last remaining guild still working to uphold the law in this region of the world.

The emblem Treek used is still set to the lobby of the guild and after we were transported there, the two of them must have dragged me into our old room. Even though I haven't been here in some time, after secretly starting to build a new home for my family in the outer reaches of Zatola, the emblem brought us here because I didn't want to risk reassigning it to take us to our new home yet, in case I'd ever lose it.

Even though I didn't notice anyone else's presence while I felt myself being dragged around, I can be quite certain that I'm going to have to answer the questions of a lot of the other guild members when I'll finally regain control over my still flaring fire.

As I stand up, I can feel Tolan and Cari losing grip of my ears before tumbling off of my head and onto the ground.

It is my pride that Treek and Stormcloud have hurt with their words of reason. And while my mind approves of their words, it is my ember that control my actions as it starts venting its anger at the unsuspecting targets.

"Leave!" I shout at the two of them, causing them to immediately turn towards me and stop talking.

I can feel the tears running down my cheeks and dropping to the ground, landing only centimeters away from where my kids are. But my ember has completely run out of patience and decides not to give the two of them a chance to leave on their own.

Before they can respond to my demand, I launch a fireball towards them. My fire wasn't aiming for anything in particular, and with Stormcloud present she reacts immediately and deflects the ball with a precisely aimed beam of water, causing it to fly into one of the dirt walls, leaving a black scorch mark.

"LEAVE!" I shout again, this time giving them a few seconds to comply while I can feel another ball growing in my core.

But with the attack not ready, they are given enough time to act on my demands, as they Treek dashes out of the room closely followed my Stormcloud.

With Treek being the grass type he is, he's obviously afraid of my rage and doesn't dare to do what the Vaporeon is doing. Because instead of leaving immediately, she decides to stand in the doorframe and tries to talk to me again.

"Cyder, I... I didn't mean it." She tries to apologize, knowing that I must have overhead them talking.

But with the next ball of fire now ready to be released, my emotions aren't in any mood for listen to her, after she just insulted them the way she did.

The fire ball is released and the water type jumps into the hallway and out of its path, leading to the disembodied flame to continue onward and hit a wall in the hallway in front of our team's room and opposite of its wide open door.

After the fire makes contact, leaving a black stain on yet another wall, my body collapses and I fall to the ground again, from where my two cubs have been monitoring me ever since I stood up.

Tears start running again and I wonder if there is actually any limit to the amount I can shed before eventually running out. But I can only feel my eyes burning, while the fluids seem to be unending.

I roll onto my side and as I can feel the calming presence of my son Tolan, I open my eyes to see him staring at me with a saddened expression.

He opens his mouth as he tries to comfort me, but neither he nor his sister have yet learned to speak. And so the only sound being produced is a cute cooing.

"Guoooou." He says, bidding me to stop crying and making me want to respond. But as I try to open my mouth, I find that I lost the ability to speak and decide to close it again alongside my eyes.

The words I would have said fly through my head. 'You and your sister are the most important thing in my life now. And I love you.' But without the ability to talk, I continue to lie where I am, feeling my body trembling as every breath I take seem to have troubles passing through by throat. Until my sorrow is interrupted by another voice speaking to me from the still wide open doorframe.

I don't know at which point I stopped crying, but my eyes are as dry as can be and burn like they each are equipped with a fiery core of their own.

"May I come in?" The voice gently asks.

It is the voice of the Asselia, the guild master and leader of this place.

I look up at the door and as I see her, I finally find myself able to regain control over my body.

Using that control, I manage to give her a nod, thus allowing her to enter this room that is technically hers'.

After receiving the confirmation, she enters the room while looking at the scorch mark on the wall. But she decides not to scold me for damaging her property and instead begins talking about what happened.

"I remember when you first showed Lydia to me." She begins. "You were so excited about her. I remember how you were shaking and hoping I would sanction her staying here until you'd move in together into your own home..."

She pauses and I find myself stopping to stopping to stare at the ground, as my eyes look past her and fall on the doorframe, next to which I can see Treek and Stormcloud peeking around the corner.

Making eye contact with me, they hastily scurry out of view in fear of provoking me into another attack. - But since I am finally back in control over my actions I wouldn't do such a thing to them.

Asselia starts talking again, causing me to look back at her. And while Tolan and Cari pay her attention as well, she sits down on Treek's old nest before speaking.

"I saw what she meant to you from the first moment I saw the two of you together. It was written in not only your eyes, but her eyes as well. And nobody could have misread what it said. You two were truly meant for each other."

After taking a short pause, allowing me to respond which I decide not to, she continues. "But of all the 'mons here, you're among those that already had to deal with loss in the past."

"I know a lot of time has already passed, but your team used to have a fourth member who is no longer with us."

I nod as I know who she is talking about. Mancerage was a good friend of mine, but while it hurts having to think back, the connection I shared with him wasn't based on love. It was based on trust and companionship, similar to my connection with Treek.

I take another peek at the door and can see Treek and Stormcloud peeking inside again. This time they don't scurry away as our eyes meet, but the eye contact is interrupted as I look back at Asselia when she speaks to me again.

"Take all the time you need to recollect yourself. I'll prepare everything you need to give her a proper memorial."

'I wish I could take all the time I might need.' I think to myself while feeling my nostrils vibrate as a barely audible sob leaves me. 'But she is forgetting who I am. - I'm the Holder. I can't take all the time I need, because once news of Jacob's demise starts to spread, someone else will be assigned to trace me. Sooner or later they will figure out that I'm back at the Eastern Mountain Guild. And if they think I still here by then, they won't leave this place standing.'

"Thank you Asselia." I say in a weakly, trembling as my own voice sends a shiver through my spine.

One or two days have passed since our return from the mineral mine with one soul less than we had planned. I don't think I've recovered from what I had to endure, and I certainly still hold a grudge against Treek. It is just like Stormcloud suggested and I don't think I'll ever be able to find myself forgiving him for leaving Lydia behind.

But I slowly find myself able to feel the time passing, first living from minute to minute, before recognizing the hours passing, while reminding myself of ~what's done being done~.

Lydia had a beautiful memorial service. It was held in a forest near the Eastern Mountain Range, her original home. There she has been given a symbolical stone shrine with a white lantern standing on top. And while the lantern's flame will eventually go out, there is nothing that could extinguish her memories still burning inside of me, Treek and everyone who ever met face with the beautiful Quilava she was.

It had to be held in secret and the turnout was accordingly and not too great, with only Asselia, Treek, Stormcloud, the kids and me. But I found myself to finally be able to move on after it was over.

We've been travelling for a day now, while trying to reach the den I've started building in the most secluded parts of northern Zatola. With it being the furthest away from the war front in the south and a lot of the 'mons that had once lived there already drafted away from their home generations ago, there is barely any population left that might pose the threat of finding out about my identity.

I still find myself constantly thinking about Lydia, but whenever the memories start weighing me down, I distract myself and remember my new motto. I'll have to be strong, if only for the kids' sake, who I'll have to raise on my own now.

So I hope that I'll be able to live in peace on the Corasonian peninsula, raising them far away from all the anger and pain the world had forced me to deal with for much longer than I like to admit.

Today we crossed the border between Zatola and Dararu. But it wasn't too hard, since the government didn't have any reason to suspect someone like me to show up, and we were able to find an un'monned gate to could sneak through.

It is autumn and we have made camp on a slope of a recess in the forest floor that is filled with a pile of leaves. Tolan and Cari are playing together within the leaves. They try to hide and surprise each other by jumping out of the pile when the other is expecting them the least.

The sun is setting and I call them to dinner. Asselia was good enough to supply us with enough provisions to make the trip twice, and we can fill our stomachs to their fullest without worrying about running out anytime soon.

"Hey Cyder." Stormcloud interrupts the slurping sounds of everyone eating.

"Yeah?" I say as I start paying her my attention.

"You said you were going to lay low from now on."

She takes a short pause as I send her a questioning look, wondering where she is planning to go with her statement.

"Whether you really mean that or not: I won't be coming with you this time. I know we've already crossed the border you might argue that I could have thought of it before, but I think I'll be heading back into Dararu and return to my home town."

"I've always been honest with you and I don't want you to think like if it's your fault, but I really feel the need to revisit my brother's grave."

"I won't stop you." I say, grateful that she finally appears to have started respecting me enough to not just walk away and leaving me to worry about her whereabouts.

"I wouldn't want to keep you from following your heart." I begin formulating my response. "As a matter of fact: I was planning to disband Team Cerinity as soon as we would have reached Kossary."

She nods before responding. "Thank you. I'll probably be leaving after break first tomorrow."

"Fine with me." I simply respond to her, before turning my attention back to my food.

Treek hasn't said anything to me since the funeral. He's just been walking at my side without opening his mouth, which is why I'm more than surprised when he actually starts talking to me after dinner and after Stormcloud and the kids are already asleep.

I hadn't noticed him yet, but as he stands next to me lying on my back and pondering my thoughts, he begins speaking again.

"Cyder?" He asks sorrowfully.

"Yeah?" I respond, fully willing to finally talk to my friend again.

"Will you... forgive me?" He asks, swallowing and having trouble formulating the second half of his question.

Stormcloud isn't asleep yet and turns her head towards us. But while our camp fire is no longer aflame and just a pile of logs still glowing near the center, she can clearly see me as I respond the way I had already planned to answer this question.

"No." I say simply. "I can never forgive you for what you did. It doesn't matter if you did it out of goodwill, but my emotions won't allow me to forgive and forget."

Treek seems shocked over my response and takes a step back before I continue. "But that doesn't mean anything has to change between us. You're still my best friend, which is something you could never change no matter what you do. You will still be family for me and you don't have to feel sorry for what happened. Know that my mind has forgiven you, and that it's my emotions which will never be able to do the same."

He nods and I can see his eyes sparkling in the glowing of the dying camp fire. And ignoring the danger, he suddenly jumps at me and starts hugging me tightly, ignoring the pain that holding a Fire Type this closely must be giving him.

I hear a bit of sizzling before the pain must have gotten to immense and he finally decides to let go a moment later, as I can see some burn marks on his stomach which he doesn't seem to care about even the slightest.

"Thank you Cyder!" He exclaims crying with a happy expression, making me hope that the kids might somehow not wake up from his cheering. His tears are not tears of sadness or pain. No: he is happy and I know that he finally understood that he will remain my friend. I had hoped that knowing that my mind has forgiven him would be enough to allow him to live again. - And it looks like I was right.

The last of the camp fire dies and the sky turns black, as I fall asleep knowing that I will wake up in a world new to me.


	36. Recovery

"He's awake!"

"OK. I'll be right there..."

"Don't try to move." A distorted voice talks directly to me. "You're badly hurt after the Houndoom hit you with his fireball while you were still partially out of phase."

Noticing that I can hear, the next thing I sense in a constant beating in my ears. It is my heartbeat, but I still don't know who is talking to me.

"Who..." I begin to stammer.

"Don't!" The voice answers. "Don't speak and keep your body relaxed. You'll be fine."

'My body...' I think to myself, as the words remind me of its existence.

'Arceus damn it!' Is the next thought I find myself having. 'Why did you have to reactivate my nerves?'

The pain is immense in some parts of my body, while I completely fail to feel others. Where my arms and legs should be, I can only feel an unpleasant tingling.

The voice I heard before begins talking again.

"You had us worry whether or not you were gon'na make it for a while there, but everything's going to be fine."

I still don't know who the voice belongs to, as it continues to explain. "You literally knocked the breath out of the Houndoom. Only thing is that the fireball you punched out of him hit you a moment later."

"Urgh." I try to speak again, as I can barely find myself able to formulate any sound at all with the air escaping my lungs.

"I said don't!" The voice scolds me immediately. "Everything and everyone is fine. You rescued us all. Nina's, Tolan and Cari are all here. Even the fire fang you used to take me out is slowly wearing off."

Everything that happens starts rushing back to me, but I don't have time to think about it when ground below me jerks, distracting me and adding onto the already immense pain.

"Damn!" The voice apparently belonging to Treek says again. "There must have been something on those stupid tracks again."

'Tracks...' I repeat the word in my mind. 'So we must have managed to escape.'

Apparently reading my thoughts, Treek continues. "Yes. We did manage to escape in the train as it left Kossary. And I think we managed to shake off any pursuers."

"It all happened very fast, but Nina was the one who actually rescued you and dragged you the remaining distance to get on the train, while Antar, that's the name of the Houndoom, must have thought he actually killed you as he didn't even try to stop her before it was too late."

"As a matter of fact: you weren't breathing when you finally got here."

Everything starts coming back and I remember the voice I heard at the start of my journey. It told me that I ~wasn't done yet~.

'I assume that has something to do with me being the Holder.' I think to myself, knowing that there couldn't be a more boring explanation, but also knowing that I won't be able to figure out what it meant since I have no idea whose voice that was. And due to the state of my body, I decide not to think about it for the time being.

"We were able to bring you back with some of the supplies Nina was able to get her paws on. She actually managed to get ahold of a bunch of Sitrus berries, so despite the state of your body, you should find yourself back to full health in a matter of one or two days."

'Good to hear.' I think as a response, while I'm not able to open my mouth to actually say so.

Some time passes, during which Tolan, Cari and Nina each take their time to talk to me, to either tell me how stupid is was of me to risk my life to safe them while still mostly thanking me for actually doing so.

Nina especially is quite surprised that I went to the trouble of rescuing her instead of just taking Cari and leaving her behind.

"You could have escaped without getting yourself hurt..." She says gratefully. "But you chose not to leave me behind, just to almost die because of that decision."

Cari is just as thankful, but portrays her emotions by mostly crying into my ear while carefully petting my head.

"Thank you." She says before pausing to sniffle for a moment. "It was so scary. - I though he was going to eat me. *sniff*"

Since Tolan was already on the train when everything went down, his response isn't about thanking me, and instead focuses of what he thinks of me after that stunt.

"I'm really proud of you, dad." He explains to me. "When I grow up, I want to be just as courageous as you."

When it is finally Treek's turn to speak with me, not a single word falls at first. I'm still not able to open my eyes, leaving me to wonder about his presence.

"Sorry." His voice finally begins to snivel after a while. "I just never learn. - I was going to make the same mistake again."

The others seem to be puzzled by his act, as I can hear a barely audible "huh" muffled by the constant rattling of the train.

"I wish..." He begins anew. "I wish I could finally understand what it feels like."

He sniffs again and start having troubles talking as he continues. "I... I just... I just hope you can find it in your head to forgive me again, even if your heart won't be able to share the opinion."

I am deeply moved and I try to respond in any way I can. I want to try and carefully touch his arm or leg. I want to tell him that it's OK and nothing went wrong this time. Or maybe just give him a nod.

I wish I could see his face, but all I can do is simply continue lying where I am, when something inside of me finally gives in and provides me with the strength to open my mouth.

"It's..." I begin and can hear shuffling, probably resulting from Treek moving closer towards my head as to better understand me.

"...OK." I cut my sentence short as the strain I'm putting my mouth and neck under is already starting to take its toll and everything begins to hurt like hell again.

The whimpering sets back in, as I can feel a tear drop on my stomach. However, it could just as well be something else or nothing at all, because with almost all my senses oversaturated with pain, it is quite difficult to tell the difference.

Silence settles back in and I must have fallen asleep, because when I wake up I finally find myself able to open my eyes and move my mouth without being stopped by the massive amounts of pain still overwhelming me.

'The Sitrus berries must be working.' I explain to myself, as I blink my eyes a couple of times and finally manage to focus my eyes on my surroundings.

It is fairly dark where I am and no sky is visible. But looking around what little of a viewing angle I have, I can see a door that is letting some moonlight fall into the room I'm in.

I know where I am; at least I suspect to know. Treek told me that we managed to escape, so I assume I'm inside one of the train wagons we had originally planned to escape on.

Relieve settles in as I am able to hear the constant rattling of the wagon on the rails underlined with my heavy heartbeats. Usually, the constant movement and forces pulling on my body would make me sick, but all things considered, I actually feel pretty fine right now.

Still though, it is dark and I can't manage to get my arms to move. They don't tickle anymore, like they did the last time I was conscious, but I start to get worried because I can't see any of the others.

'They should all be here.' I think to myself while looking back out through the open door of the wagon.

Even though it is dark, the moonlight is shining from far above and I can see the terrain flying by. The train is currently passing through a dense pine forest, but not knowing how long we've already travelled for, I don't know which one. And without the ability to move, I can't go outside to take a closer look.

Not actually in pain, I try to fall asleep again when I suddenly hear a voice next to my head.

"Not the greatest of views, huh?" It talks to me.

It is Nina, but considering I can't move my head, I hadn't noticed her before she decided to speak up. And knowing I'd have trouble to respond to her, she moves into my view and sends me a look before staring out through the door like I did before.

I follow her with my eyes since who appear to be my bodies only muscle that I can move. Or rather should move, since I know that I shouldn't even try to move any of my muscles and instead give my body a fighting chance in recovery.

Nina sits lies down and supports her head with her front legs while continuing to stare outside. I don't know if she is expecting me to respond to what she said, but I am reminded of our intimate talk I had with her two nights ago.

Lying on my stomach, I can't see a lot of her from my point of view and can definitely only see a small portion of the terrain. After all: this is no passenger cart. It's an empty cargo wagon headed for someplace far away from Corasona.

The thought that we actually made it out hadn't crossed my mind yet, but then again we didn't make it out without getting detected.

Memories of our encounter with the Houndoom rush back as the events start replaying themselves in my mind's eye.

I was extremely careless in my approach, especially when I attacked Treek. Because by incapacitating him I threw away the possibility of him helping me in my endeavors. But then again, the Orb would have run out even faster if it would have had to distribute its energy between the two of us.

Lost in thought I find my mind slipping away in to the world of dreams, only to be hindered from reaching its goal when Nina starts talking again.

She is still talking with a clear and crisp voice without actually looking at me. And with her only visible from the corner of my eye I had already forgotten about her being there.

"You saved my life today." She begins, still staring out into the darkness.

From my point of view, I can see still only see the pine trees flying by, as start to wonder if there is something to darkness that only a dark type can see. After all: this is her terrain and from an evolutionary stand point, her time to shine. But even more though I am surprised about the sudden change of topic.

After some more time passes, she turns back towards me and our eyes meet. I don't know if she wanted to check if I'm still awake or if she was going to do something different if they weren't opened, but they are and our eyes make contact before she finally continues to talk.

"And today wasn't even the first time."

Her blank eyes are staring at me and I am confused that such emotionless eyes can belong to someone as emotional as her. In contrast to myself she is a being purely lead by its emotions, without the ability to think on its own without some instinct taking apart in her decision.

After a while of staring into her eyes, I finally notice that they are in fact portraying an emotion. They are not emotionless; they are blank. The poor fox doesn't know what to feel. She doesn't understand why I saved her. Because even though it was also Cari's life that I had rescued, I hope that I would have done the same if it was just Nina who was in trouble.

Immediately after I connect the dots, she breaks the contact and stares back out into the wilderness passing by, as if out of fear from my reaction.

I try to follow her but she is still sitting on the outside of my peripheral vision. And finally remembering that I should in fact be able to talk again, I try to strain my vocal cords to begin speaking to her.

It is hurting a bit as I begin, but with the Sitrus already flooding my body with their juices for some time now, I surprise myself by how little doing so is actually hurting me.

"You..." I being, still speaking very weakly. "You have no debt to me."

Nina turns towards me and all the emptiness in her eyes is gone. They are filled with anxiety and joy about me being able to react while carrying the longing to hear me speak more words for her.

"Cyder..." She whispers while her eyes look like they are getting bigger.

The moment I finished my first sentence she stopped looking at the terrain and dropped down in front of me, allowing me to look at her without any troubles.

"You saved my life too... twice." I continue to talk, still with a shaky voice and trying to suppress the urge of swallowing, since doing so would surely cause me a lot of pain, seeing how my body is still far away from being fully regenerated.

My injuries have truly been severe and I can't say that I would have look forward to my escape if I knew that this was going to be the state I would be in. Even though my body will recover over time, I feel like I came too close to dying today. And if it wasn't for the pain I'm still feeling, I'd be certain that this was all just my dying dream.

"When did I safe your life?" She asks confusedly. "If it hadn't been for me, Antar would have never been looking around Kossary. - He wasn't looking for you; he was looking for me. He must have suspected me to disguise my way through the fence and get out of Otheria on a train."

Before I can try to speak again, I see the wagon lighting up from a small candle light. I don't have to think twice whose it is, seeing how Cari should still be wearing her brace, leading me to conclude that it is Tolan who has summed his flame.

But I am surprised when I see that it actually is Cari carrying the light as she walks into my field of view, carrying the flicking candle without her brace anywhere to be seen.

"Dad." She whispers, walking up to Nina who is stands up as she arrives.

"How are you feeling?" She asks as I notice her holding a blood soaked scarf in her left paw.

"Are you cold? Are you hot? Do you want something to eat?"

Remembering my newfound ability to speak, I decide to her an answer. "No... Nothing."

Looking at Nina, Cari starts talking only to her. "I'm going to wake the others. They'll be glad that Cyder's finally conscious again."

I start to wander what she means by finally, but I satisfy myself by thinking that she only refers to being glad about me having healed to the point where I can talk.

Distracting myself from the burning in my back, I watch her walking out of view while I connect the hints that were already given to me.

'The blood in the scarf must be mine.' I start thinking. 'They probably used it to clean up the wound which should be on my back, considering that's where it hurts the most and the fact they laid me down on my stomach.'

'They've been using Sitrus Berries, meaning I should be back up on my feet in practically no time, since those can speed up healing enough to even regenerate the worst damages in less than twenty-four hours.'

I can see Treek and Tolan coming into view, followed by Cari and Nina escorting them.

Tolan yawns while Treek suppresses the urge and lies down on his stomach a meter in front of my face before starting to speak to me.

"I see you're awake again, dude." He begins. "You had us worried there for a while. We thought we had lost again you when you stopped responding yesterday."

"Yesterday?" I think out loudly, instantly regretting the action as my raw throat is overwhelmed with the urge to cough.

Doing my best to suppress the urge while squeezing my eyes, I can hear Treek ordering Nina to grab another Sitrus for me.

I can hear paws shuffling over the metal floor before I open my eyes again and repeat my question, this time taking care to spare my lungs from the abuse I put them through a moment ago.

"Yesterday?" I ask again, still speaking with a rough voice.

"Yes man." Treek responds while he looks past me, probably checking up on Nina's progress in procuring the berry.

"You've been out for more than a day." While receiving something I can only assume to be the promised Sitrus Berry from Nina, he continues after standing up to his knees and inching towards me.

"You had us worried you might never wake up again." He repeats himself as I willingly open my mouth and can feel the sweet aroma of the Berry spread through my mouth.

"You do know who you are and who we are, right? No lost memories or something like that?"

'How am I supposed to know if I lost memories.' I think to myself in an annoyed, imaginary tone. 'If I knew I lost a memory, it wouldn't be lost but simply not available.'

"Treek." I say as an answer to his question, indicating that I remember his name.

"Cyder." I continue while closing my eyes, indicating that I wasn't referring to anyone of them.

"Cari." I say after opening them again and looking at my daughter.

"To*cough*" I try to answer while looking at the other Cyndaquil, but fail to complete the word when a sudden urge to cough pops up and interrupts my speech, leaving me with an even more painful stinging in by chest.

"Shh." Treek begins anew. "Take it easy. - You could have just said ~no~ instead of coughing your blood everywhere."

I open my eyes again, as I held them closed while the coughing urge had its hold on me. And opening them again, I can see small, scattered sprinkles of blood on the floor and Treek's legs as he was standing in front of me.

Cari is offering him the bloody scarf I saw her holding before, but he rejects and instead proceeds to lean down to help me get an un-eaten chunk of the Sitrus back into my mouth. And again, I willingly open up to feel the sweet taste spread over my tongue and instantly start calming my nerves.

Treek finally accepts the scarf and cleans up the blood from his ankles before starting to talk to me again.

"Try not to say more than one word at a time for now." Be begins, now facing me again. "I know you probably have a lot of questions on your mind, but if you want to express them, try to speak slowly and make sure you don't forget to take pauses to give your voice a change to relax."

During a short moment of silence, he sits himself down, followed by Tolan, Cari and Nina talking seats next to him.


	37. Hijack

"Where?" I state as my first question, sticking to only uttering one word at a time in an attempt to not unnecessarily strain my voice.

Treek begins to talk as the wagon rocks back and forth and I press my teeth against each other. "You probably already figured out that we managed to escape on the cargo train as it was leaving Kossary."

"More than a day has passed since then and today at sunset we crossed the border to Sazari. Don't worry: since the countries are working together the train didn't even have to slow down while crossing and."

Nina interrupts Treek and continues without being asked to. "We've gotten pretty lucky when the Zangoose who's operating the engine didn't hear all the ruckus my former boss caused. Good thing you never did upgrade our orb engines, or else he might have heard us through the humming noise of the engine running."

'She's correct' I think to myself, as I once again start noticing the humming noise vibrating through the metal of the cargo wagon. And while the noise isn't as bad as it is when the train is starting or stopping, I still regret noticing it immediately.

'I guess Jacob really took me seriously when I was babbling all that nonsense about Orb engines, and actually told his superiors about it.'

Nina stops talking and I can process the information while everyone is paying attention to me without me being able to look back at them. I am staring out into the terrain and wonder about what is going to happen next.

"Arrive?" I ask, hoping that Treek and the other would be able to decipher my question.

I'm wondering about when and where we are going to arrive and how they are planning to getting me off the train without being spotted.

"What does he mean ~arrive~?" Cari asks while looking at Treek.

"You mean this train, don't you?" He retorts to me without paying attention to Cari wondering out loudly.

I answer his question with a single word like we agreed upon. "Yes." And while I carefully try to swallow and actually manage to do so without immediately regretting the action, he begins speaking.

"I'm not sure where or when this train will be coming to a stop, but since it's a cargo train it's probably not heading for a military base. And even if it is, it'll surely leave behind this cargo wagon before getting some real passenger carts."

I start getting worried as I notice a risk that Treek hasn't mentioned yet, and most likely hasn't even though about if I were to judge by his facial expression.

'What if the train is headed for the capital?' I ask to myself. 'It's more than likely that this train is on its way there, seeing how almost all routes still in use are somehow connected with it.'

"Capitol." I say weakly, making an effort not to have it sound like a question.

"What do you...?" Nina tries to insert, but is interrupted by Treek.

"Shh..." He says. "I understand what you mean, Cyder."

"Guys..." He continues after a moment in a concerned voice and after having turned towards the rest of the group. "We have a problem. Cyder is referring to the destination of this train. It must be heading towards the Capitol City in Sazari."

"Shoot!" Nina exclaims as she appears to understand the problem. "Of course: where else would this train be heading. Why didn't we think of that?"

Interrupting her and regaining everyone's attention, Treek takes over and starts discussing a plan. "If that's where we're heading, we can't let this train reach its goal. If we end up in Capitol City, we'll have no way of escaping and are going to be detected the moment we step foot out of this box. - Much less with Cyder hurt and him not being able to walk on his own."

"We'll have to stop this train before it reaches its goal. And judging by how much time has already passed since we've crossed the border, we'll have to act now."

Tolan finally speaks up and states the obvious problem. "But we don't know how to stop a train. We'd have to knock out the driver and take over the engine in the front. But none of us know how to operate an Orb Engine; only dad might know how to do that..."

Tolan is right in that I do know how to operate and shut down an Orb Kinetic Engine, as is the scientific term. And more than that I know about the danger associated with someone not knowing what to do operating it.

"Yes..." Treek regains everyone's attention. "Those things are no kids toys." He continues, knowing full well of how dangerous an Orb Engine can be. " - If you make a single mistake you might end up blowing yourself up in an explosion."

I can see Nina swallowing after having herd the warning before speaking up again. "But we have to do something. This train is headed for Capitol City for sure! And judging from what I know about the geographical layout, we'll be arriving sooner rather than later. And even though they won't be expecting us to show up, since the word of your escape can't travel much faster than we are travelling right now, someone will surely inspect this wagon. And even putting all that aside and assuming we do make it out in time, which will be difficult with Cyder still hurt, there's no chance to leave undetected with soldiers running around everywhere."

"Guys!" Treek speaks up again. "We can't be arguing about this. We have to stop this train one way or another. And I only see one way of doing that."

"First thing we have to do is take over control, which means we have to get rid of that Zangoose. It shouldn't be too hard: Nina and I should easily be able to take him out. But the hard part will be dragging Cyder to the engine so he can shut it down."

I try to think of another way to stop the train, but Treek is already in full vigor and pays no attention to me as he immediately starts executing his plan.

"Nina. I hope you're ready, because we'll be hijacking a train."

"Always." She says excitedly.

"Wait..." I speak up again, trying to stop Treek from going through with his extremely stupid plan. Because once they'd incapacitate the driver, there will be no one to regulate the engine. And before they'll be able to come back to get me, it will have overheated and exploded, leaving the rest of the train to fly off the tracks and crash into the terrain, with us still inside of it.

Noticing my intervention, Treek stops in his steps and turns around while already standing inside the doorframe of the container wagon we are in.

"Over..." I begin speaking, again finding it hard to pronounce the words. "heat..."

"What did he say?" Asks Treek, now facing my kids still sitting in front of me.

"He said ~Overheat~" Answers Tolan.

But Treek doesn't appear to understand as he faces Cari and begins to speak. "He's hot. Try to cool him off while we're gone. We need him to have a clear head in less than a few minutes."

Cari nods and Treek turns to leave again as he starts heading out of the container onto a maintenance framework just in front of the doors.

"No..." I try to stop him again, only managing to whisper the words with my strained vocal cords.

Cari walks up to me with the scarf drenched in the blood I must have been losing during the course of the past day. She walks up and starts dapping my forehead with the red piece of cloth. It feels cool and a little bit wet, meaning that it must have been dipped in some water at some point in the near past.

For a moment I wonder if holding a wet piece of cloth is hurting Cari, before I snap back to the problem at paw: I have to stop Treek from unknowingly killing himself and taking Nina with him.

"Engine..." I whisper, straining my voice anew while Cari is close enough to my face to understand.

"What's with the engine?" She asks, not following my thoughts.

"Don't worry dad..." She says while continuing to pat my forehead with the wet piece of cloth, producing faint sizzling noises whenever the cloth is making contact. "Treek and Nina won't touch the engine. They'll knock out the driver and come back to get you, then you can instruct us on how to turn it off or do it yourself if you feel up to it."

For a moment I am overcome with the sudden urge to strangle her for just not understanding what the problem is. But after immediately realizing that that wouldn't be a good idea even if I was able to go through with it, I try to speak again while ignoring Treek's advice to only say one word at a time.

"No..." I begin, producing the faint sounds of the syllables and hoping that Cari would manage to understand them. "Engine over... heat." I am barely able to whisper the last syllable, but my attempt is successful and Tolan who has been standing next to his sister and was listening to what I was saying seems to understand.

"Are you saying the engine is going to overheat?" He asks.

I move my mouth to try to answer "yes", but no air manages to hit my vocal cords as my mouth simply moves to form the word, while Cari is able to read my lips and translate for her brother.

"He said ~yes~. - We have to stop Treek and Nina!"

I am relieved that I was finally able to get them to understand the problem with Treek's undertaking.

I let myself breath in as I can hear Tolan's and Cari's paws scurry across the metal floor of the container, heading outside to follow the others.

But the moment they step outside, I realize what I have done. Not only am I completely alone now, but if the kids fail I just send them into their deaths.

Panic overcomes me as I can no longer see a flame lighting up the inner walls of the wagon, as neither Tolan nor Cari are there to create it.

'No!' I shout in my head while my mouth tries to obey the signals send, but fails to articulate the words and only manages to produces the movement of the muscles that would be necessary to comply. Air is flowing through the throat, but not sounds are produced.

With the panic flowing through my body, my emotions take over and reactivate my motor system, starting to move my arms and legs without my permission while redirecting the pain that doing so is giving me towards my head.

The pain is immense and my poor, reasonable mind must endure the stupidity of my ember as it flares, thereby tearing open the fresh scab that was covering the main wound on my back, letting my blood start flowing out again.

Ignoring all my body parts' wishes to stop, my ember has no intention of doing so as my body starts heading towards the open door less than a meter away from me.

But ignoring the screams of pain may not have been the smartest choice, as my ember loses its control over our body only a moment later when the pain begins to override its access, letting the muscles go limb.

The pain is still there and I can feel some of the blood flowing down my back as I fall face-down on my stomach, having moved less than a meter. My head has fallen outside of the container and is resting on the metal of the scaffolding lining the container.

My eyes fall open and I can see the small flames carried by Tolan and Cari follow the shadows of a Zorua and a Treecko already far ahead of them.

My eyes blink on their own and I can hear shouting cutting through the noisy rattling of the train continuing on its way.

"Stop!" I Cari blares out, most definitely alarming the Zangoose that must still be driving the train. But even alerting him to our presence is a better course of action than the alternative or being blown up.

The shadows they are chasing stop moving and the lights my kids are carrying catch up to reveal their already known identity.

I blink again and my eyes remain closed for a moment, before I find the ability to command them to open again. The blood loss of the wound my ember so carelessly ripped open is starting to make me dizzy and I have trouble focusing the image of the two candles poking out of the dark terrain while being distracted by the pain.

Since they are no longer shouting and the train is making too much noise, I can no longer hear what they are saying to each other. But I image Treek scolding them for following while Tolan and Cari try to explain that the engine would overheat if the Zangoose were to suddenly disappear.

But unbeknownst to them, I can see a fifth shadow appearing on the side of the train while by brain surprisingly manages to connect the dots immediately. It must be the driver who has left his post to investigate the shouting.

I try to alarm the others; to tell them to look out. But the only sound I manage to produce is another pained and dry cough as my body forces me to close my eyes again.

After what feels like an eternity I finally manage to command my body to open its eyes. It obeys my order and the picture I see manages to appear even more distorted that what it was before.

The sky has changed and the moon can be seen as it lights up the terrain. I can see a small fireball flying towards it, only to whizz out of existence before ever managing to touch it. It must have been launched by one of my kids, as I start to understand that a fight has broken loose. As indicated by the various shadows jumping around to dodge the different attacks they are throwing at each other.

'Whatever the outcome of this fight may be, it is not going to be in our favor.' I think to myself while doing my best to process what I'm seeing, wishing I could simply turn off the pain still distracting me. 'If the Zangoose wins, which is unlikely seeing how he's alone, they're all going to be dead. And in the likely case of my team winning, one of them might get hurt badly and most importantly: the engine is going to blow.'

With my mind distracted from processing the picture while having to run under the strain of not having enough blood, I am not able to understand everything that is happening in real time, leaving my body take advantage of my weakness and force my eyes to close again.

My mind is notices the fact that my body has closed its eyes when a loud shout of pain can be heard, immediately followed by the train notably rocking up and down while barely managing to stay on the tracks.

The anxiety of the act providing me with a tiny bit of strength, I manage to open my eyes without having to wait for my body to process the request, as I can see something white and red pass by directly underneath me. I can see arms and claws and a shocked face. - But no legs. It is the Zangoose, the train driver who has passed underneath me. Or at least half of him as his lower half was cleanly cut off by the blunt force of the train running over him. I can see the white of his spine sticking out the lower end of his torso, where it once connected to his lower body.

'He must have fallen on the tracks in an attempt to elude an attack of one of my team members.' I try to explain the gruesomeness of what I just witnessed without even considering the fact that my previous question has been answered. 'Because I know for certain that they would never kill an innocent, much less someone they'd need to survive.'

The train continues to rattle and I can hear what I had feared. The high-pitched noise of the engine running has already started changing its frequency. I can tell by the speed at which it is switching between seemingly random tones, that it will most likely blow before anyone would get the chance to take a look at it.

'Please body!' I try to get my body to follow.

'Let me move!' I attempt my best at persuasion, with the only response given to me being more pain.

'Help me, Ember!' I cry out to myself. 'We have to save them. Now would have been the time to activate those energy reserves you've already wasted in your infinite wisdom.'

But to no avail, as the adrenaline given to me after hearing the Zangoose's dying cry leaves my circulatory system and my eyelids start to close on their own again.

Practically no time must have passed, before I can hear voices at my side and feel my body being lifted up. But time must have passed as the constant humming has started picking up, flooding the air with its mind-numbingly loud cries while switching between dozens of seemingly random frequencies in every passing second.

I can't open my eyes, but I can hear the noise of the engine changing its pitch faster and faster. And I know that it is too late with only seconds remaining before it will blow. The frequencies of the have reached the critical threshold, and I know exactly that less than a minute remains before it will blow.

There is one specific frequency that marks the limit of every Orb Kinetic Engine. Once only a single of the sounds being emitted surpasses that frequency, the engine will explode. And while it is absolutely random at which point the first tone with a pitch above the breaking point is emitted, the frequency they are jumping around is continuously rising if the Orb's unstable energy is not regulated.

So my estimate is a glass-half-full kind of estimate, meaning that there is no way that the engine will still be running in less than half a minute.

While not managing to open my eyes, the voice next to my head starts getting clearer when I am able to hear Treek's voice cut through the buzzing cries of the machine.

"Cyder!" He yells. "Cyder! Can you fix this?"

'No' would have been my answer if I was in any condition to respond. But all I can do now is hope that he makes the right decision and either tells everyone to jump of the train, or tell them to get to safety in the back of it, hoping that Arceus would be looking over us and let the blast be absorbed by the empty containers between us and the engine.

I lost my sense of time and any amount of time could have passed before I'm ripped back into reality by an ear shattering explosion.

~ BOOM ~

I can hear nothing else and have no idea where I am as the echo of the explosion has shattered my ears, leaving the machines dying cries to transition into the loud and constant ringing now flooding my mind.

Everything shakes and I lose my sense of up and down. But while I'm still unable to command my eyes to open up, my eyelids don't have to follow my orders to allow me to see as their back is lit up by a bright ball of fire somewhere, a little off in the distance.


	38. Moral

It feels like no time has passed and I manage to I force my eyes open. Blinking, to adjust them to the brightness of the new world I find myself in.

Not having trouble remembering what happened, I find myself able to move more than just my eye lids, as I absentmindedly start stroking my head. But noticing that I can move my arm, I also have to notice that a bit of pain is still connected with the action of doing so.

"Cyder." I can hear a familiar voice shout. "Thank Arceus you're OK as well."

It is Treek talking to me and I can see him come into view as I continue to stare at the clouds. It must be early morning and I can't see the sun yet, while the sky is starting to light up to reveal the hope it has brought into this new day.

"What...?" I begin wondering out loudly, noticing that I have barely any troubles to talk before finishing my sentence. "What happened?"

I force myself to sit up straight and with only a bit of trouble overcoming the pain in my back still stabbing my back, I manage to do so.

"The engine blew up." Treek responds, stating the obvious as I take a look around.

With my eyes searching my surrounding, I can immediately confirm his assessment. The wreck of the train we were riding can be seen as it still smokes and is blocking the tracks. The carts don't look too smashed up but don't appear in any operational condition either.

While noticing Nina and the kids and seeing them all being OK, Cari begins explaining a bit more. "But we were able to jump off not a moment too late. And we got lucky, so no one of us got hurt."

Looking over them and focusing my view, Nina adds her statement. "As a matter of fact: you were the last one we still had to make sure was OK."

Still confused over my condition, I ask the obvious while slowly pushing myself up from the ground and suppressing the remainder of the pain that doing so is giving me. "How come I'm feeling fine right now? Last night I was still having troubles to move at all and was practically dying when we jumped off. But now I'm just fine."

"We gave you the rest of the Sitrus we still had left." Treek begins to answer my question. "With the amount already in your body and the boost of some more, they were able to completely heal you up."

It is theoretically possible that enough Sitrus Berries can heal you as quickly as I apparently got healed, but I start wondering exactly how many they fed me with.

But with a surprisingly clear mind, I fully manage to grasp the situation and take over control. "I understand. Thanks, you guys. But we have to get out of here. Whoever was expecting the train to arrive probably already send someone to check on its whereabouts..."

Looking around the terrain for prominent landmarks, trying to get my bearings, I notice the smoking train again. Other than that we are in a pine tree forest, I can find nothing that could help me narrow our position. Sazari is filled with a lot of different pine forests and we could be in any one of them. – Well: almost any of them, as this one is likely close to Capitol City.

But seeing how it must be early morning, I finally find the sun as I look around. We are on the side of a somewhat steep slope with the tracks curving around the mountain side. Looking down the slope and into the valley, most of the view is still covered by the pine trees. But I manage to see the sun to my left, peeking through the branches and throwing its morning rays onto the scene.

Knowing the approximate location of west, I can fairly certainly say that we should start heading down the slope and away from the train wreck.

"We must get out of here before they come." I continue after the moment I took to get my bearings. And while I wasn't able to precisely determine our location, I start explaining where we should head.

"We should start heading that direction." I say while pointing down the inclination, away from the tracks. "I can't say where we are for sure, but we were heading west and I can see the sun rising in that direction. So we should start heading north to get away from the railroad while hopefully getting closer to Gloom Woods as well."

I try to start walking, but instantly regret the decision as I clench my teeth and fall to my knees.

"Cyder." I can hear various voices shout before Nina manages to grab my attention. "I don't think you should try to talk yet."

"I'm fine..." I say annoyed while forcing myself up to stand on two feet again.

"No Cyder." Treek says. "You're not fine. The Sitrus might be making you feel good and you're most definitely better off than you were last night, but I can say for certain that you should not try to walk on two feet."

"I can't carry you for too long, much less without risking some serious burns..." Treek continues while pointing at the charred bite marks he still has remaining from when I bit him to let go of me and rescue Nina and Cari and will continue to be visible for some time.

"So you'll walk on four legs to better distribute your weight. And don't try to hurry, because you'll regret it and we are only going to walk as fast as you do."

I sigh since I know that Treek is right. 'If I'm not careful I'll just end up making it worse.' I begin convincing myself. 'And if we run into trouble and I'm incapacitated, I won't be able to run.'

Giving myself defeated, I nod the Treecko and don't try to push myself from the ground, instead remaining on four feet before starting to her down the slope without looking back at the others and risk them seeing my pained expression.

But before I reach it, Treek hands me my hat while I am glad that not even the neat little feather on top appears to have broken off during all the chaos it had to endure since I first laid my paw on it. And putting it on, I finally begin setting foot on the slope covered with loose rocks and dense pine trees.

It isn't as steep as I first made it out to be, and with four legs on the ground and carefully heading down, I find it to be a very strange feeling to walk like this. The reason isn't because I'm not used to travelling on four feet, but because I usually only run when I'm like this. When walking at these speeds I normally always move on two feet in order to keep a view on my surroundings and see any potential upcoming dangers before it might be too late.

So the only reason I would usually walk on all fours would be because I'm in a hurry. Or because I trying to sneak and need to keep a low profile in order to not be detected.

Yet this time the reason is different. I have to walk at a normal pace while remaining on four legs and constantly find myself having to suppress the urge to speed up, knowing that failing to do so would result in the pain on my back reminding me of its existence alongside my being scolded by Treek.

We're already halfway down the hill and Nina and the kids are walking in front of me, when I decide to start a lighthearted conversation with Treek. Nina isn't carrying Cari anymore and like I already noticed last night my daughter is no longer wearing her brace. So her arm must be fully healed, yet she doesn't appear as lively as usual and absentmindedly trots along the untraveled slope without taking any pauses or looking at me even once.

"Too bad you guys didn't have even more Sitrus, huh?" I ask him laughingly.

"Yeah..." Treek responds in a voice you'd use when admitting defeat. "I guess the rest of your injuries aren't just going to magically disappear overnight."

Treek is right and I'll be stuck with my hindered movement abilities for a while. At least until they heal on their own or we find some more Sitrus.

"I see you managed to recover your bag from the wagon we were in." I begin talking to Treek as he fastens his bag around his neck. "Yeah. How do you think we manage to feed you with the remaining Sitrus?"

I should have thought of that, but instead of admitting to my mistake I ask about the important condition of its other contents. "Did something break in the impact?"

"I've got bad news about your orbs..." Treek begins as he opens the bag. "The Luminous Orb shattered and activated on impact."

'That would explain the bright flash of light.' I think to myself as I remember the brilliant glare I saw when the explosion happened.

"What about the other one?" I ask, referring to the mystery Orb I couldn't identify when I recovered it because it was missing its label.

"That one is still fine." Treek begins. "Well... as fine as it was when you gave it to me. You sure that thing is still operational?"

After thinking a moment, I answer Treek's question. "I can't be one hundred percent sure, but I think it is. So we better continue holding onto it."

Treek gives me a nod and almost falls over a rock protruding from the ground, but manages to catch himself before uncontrollably tumbling down the hill.

After waiting for him to catch his fall, I continue the conversation as if nothing had happened. "You know: I never got to ask what exactly it is that Nina stole in Kossary."

"Well." He begins after brushing off some dirt from his knees. "You already know about the Sitrus, but other than that she also got two dozen Orans and some Cheri, Chesto, Pecha and Rawst berries. So we should be good on supplies until we reach Laizisso."

"That's good to hear." I say relieved, the conversation still feeling like I'm the only one talking. "Do you have any idea where we are though?"

"No..." Treek answers with a sad tone, as I look forward to where we are heading. I can see Nina and the Kids arriving at the end of the slope where they stop and look back at me, silently waiting for us to catch up with them.

They look very worn out, but not because of the exercise of hiking down the hill. I only have to think for a moment as to why they are as spent as they are, before I remember of last night and of what had happened during their fight.

They killed the Zangoose who was operating the train. And while I don't know about the exact circumstances that lead to his demise, I can see it in their eyes that this is exactly what they are thinking about, blaming themselves for what has transpired.

Approaching them, Nina tries to hide her guilty expression from me and looks away, while Tolan and Cari continue staring at me as I finally reach them and begin talking.

"Hey..." I attempt to grab their attention, speaking softly and trying to comfort them while knowing that it won't be an easy task. "I know what happened last night. I saw some of it and I'm sure none of you wanted that Zangoose to die."

Cari's eyes start glistening in the early morning light and I know I went too far.

Backpedaling my approach, I walk up to her and begin anew while straining my muscles to pet her on her head.

"Do you want to tell me what exactly happened?" I ask in a sweet and caring tone, hoping to lighten the mood by giving them a chance to get it off their hearts.

Sadly though, I get my answer when she snivels a weak "No" before flinching and escaping from the paw that had carefully been making contact with her.

'The poor kids...' I think to myself as I turn to look at Tolan. 'They had to endure so much during these past couple of days. I just hope they can persevere until we reach Gloom Woods and Treek's hometown.'

Looking at Tolan I see him trying to swallow the guilt, but fails to uphold his strength before displaying the same signs as his sister.

Not wanting to press the matter, I decide not to persuade him into talking with me and instead decide to take a look at our surroundings.

I can see Nina a bit off to my left, looking down the valley towards the rising sun. It doesn't appear to have moved at all since I looked at it before, but much less trees have grown inside the valley, meaning we can't stay for too long before having to move on.

I didn't see a river from up top at the tracks, and looking away from Nina and across the valley I see another slope covered in the same pine trees as the one behind us.

'Wherever we are, there sure are a lot of hills.' I think to myself before addressing everyone to starts heading onward.

Treek had been at my side since our arrival, but hadn't said a single world. Yet before I can speak up he silences me and begins talking in private.

"I know we're not safe here." He begins. "And you want to move one. But you should give them a moment."

After a short pause during which I intently waited for him to say something else, he finally continues. "I know you don't literally want to know what happened with the Zangoose, but technically he killed himself while trying to dodge our attacks."

I look at Treek standing next to me and even though he isn't looking back and instead staring at the group scattered around us, I give him a nod he would never see.

Though after another moment, he continues. "The problem is that we all played a part in his demise. We were all trying to knock him out, so everyone of us has to carry a part of the responsibility."

I understand what he is trying to say, but I can't stop to think about anything else than our situation of still being visible from the train tracks.

Considering that, I whisper back at Treek. "I understand, but we should really try to reach the next tree line before we can allow ourselves to rest."

Ignoring what I just said, Treek continues. "Do you remember how it must have felt when you saw the dead Poochyena on your first day?"

His question confuses me, but I don't get the time to think about what Treek might be referring to before he proceeds with his explanation. "I was able to soothe your mind by telling you that it was just a feral."

Stopping mid-sentence without having finished his thought, he turns towards me as I return his glance and our eyes meet.

"The Zangoose was an innocent bystander who was just doing his job. They think they're murderers." He says while pointing at the backs of the other and I swallow to comprehend his words. And having trouble to cope with the fact himself, he weakly states that they are right in some way or another.

'I'm really not good at this...' I think to myself while lowering my head. But quickly realizing that I can use anything but another judgmental mind, Treek notices my self-reproach, looks away and takes a deep breath before addressing the group on my behalf.

"OK gang." He begins speaking in a voice forced to sound nice, as all heads turn towards him and start paying at least some of their attention. "We can still be spotted from the tracks if we remain here. So we're going to continue heading north and hope that we run into something that might help us determine where exactly we are."

Unlike usual he isn't met with ubiquitous agreement, but instead watches as Nina and the kids stop staring into the distance and start tracking towards him while he waits for me to start leading the group and setting the speed that we will be travelling at.

And so I begin walking next to him with the others behind us, hoping that some of the tension might be lifting itself as time goes by. Hoping that destiny shares our ambitions of safely arriving at Laizisso Town and that Arceus would see our true intentions and forgive us for taking a life.

I look back one more time, to see if I can establish eye contact with anyone, but the moment I look back at Nina and the Kids their front-facing faces turn away, explicitly preventing me from looking at them. I try to disregard their signals and act like I simply wanted to take another look at the hill with the tracks on top.

I can still see a bit of smoke rising through the tree tops, as some of the things the explosion caught on fire must still be smoldering. But not wanting to give the impression of thinking about the murder victim we are leaving behind, I quickly turn around and pay attention to where we are heading, hoping that my posture might somehow emanate a faked determination I wish myself and the others would have for real.


	39. Guilt

We've been travelling the country side for a while now. Not too much time has passed and the sun is standing high up in the sky at this point. We still have not been able to determine our exact location thus far, and since I can't say that I have an intimate knowledge of this region's layout, we will have to continue relying on luck to lead the way.

Since its noon, we have decided to take a break. Well... Treek has decided after I told him that I could really use a break after already having walked the entire morning.

My body is still in a very rough state and I try not to let anyone notice whenever I feel the pain stinging in my back. There are more pressing problems right now and thus far I managed to hide the pain quite well.

The sky is still just as clear as it was when we started heading out, and with the sun brightening the world I'm actually able to see the first signs of spring sprouting out of the ground in the form of a few early flowers here and there.

We decided to take the break within one of the pine woods that appear to be covering the mountain ridges in this region. And after finding a nice looking resting spot in the forest's floor, Treek puts down his bag and tells everyone to hold up.

"This seems like a good spot." He says, almost startling me as I remember that we can use words to communicate.

As nobody had spoken a word since our involuntary break at the foot of the hill with the train tracks, everyone else is just as startled, yet no objects against taking a break from the painfully slow walking are uttered.

Nina is first to take her seat and quickly glances at me. Noticing that I realized her looking at me she quickly adverts her gaze, only to look back at me a moment later when she must have decided to give me another chance of eye contact.

Yet I didn't plan on saying anything as she allows our eyes to meet, so I simply give her a heartwarming smile before watching as Tolan and Cari take their seats as well.

Unlike Nina though, they don't return my glace and instead begin staring at Treek's bag lying in the middle of us, expecting to receive food while trying to distract their minds from the guilt they want to forget about.

'They won't be able to cope with it forever if they can't find themselves able to talk about it.' I think to myself before giving up and joining in on their expectations of being served some food.

And although my stomach hasn't started rumbling, I know that I most definitely have room to fill with a nice, nutritional meal.

Treek wasn't lying when he said that we have more than enough supplies. Something I wasn't thinking about when he opened his bag, leading me to take an astonished look at the sheer amount of berries. And even though it's not as much as I had in my storage, I quickly pull myself back when I notice that my awe is not suitable for the occasion with everyone else quietly sitting around and pondering their own thoughts.

I don't have to wait to get my share though as Treek serves me a paw full of Orans.

"Here. You get a bit more." He says while handing me three Orans and a Pecha. "You still have some healing to do and with all of the Sitrus gone, this is the best we can do for right now."

I don't reject his offer, mainly because my stomach wouldn't have let me, and start digging in. Though not comparable with Sitrus, the taste is still great and I start to join everyone in their self-contemplation.

'In a way...' I begin to think while biting down on one of the Orans. 'In a way it's my fault as well. The situation would have never arisen if it wasn't for the decisions I made that lead to it.'

Regretting my decisions is something I rarely ever do, as I try to find the single wrong decision that lead to everyone having to life with a murder on their conscience.

I reach the conclusion that the main mistake I had made, was when I send Tolan and Cari after Treek and Nina without even thinking about the consequences. I should have known that the only way they would have been be able to stop them was the way they did: by shouting and alerting everyone including the Zangoose, which inevitably lead to the fight that caused his death.

Feeling the regret, maybe just because I don't want to be left out, I accidentally let out an audible sigh as my stomach curls a big.

I didn't expect that I'd be able to grab the attention of anyone only by sighing, but I'm proven wrong when I look up and see Nina and the kids looking at me.

Treek hasn't noticed what is going on, but the first thing I notice is the eye contact I managed to establish.

Using this opportunity, I begin speaking and finally manage to grab Treek's attention as well, as he stops pondering his own thoughts and looks at me.

"If this is anyone's fault at all..." I begin and continue after a short pause. "Then it is definitely mine."

The group is still looking at me and I know I have to say something else to prevent the situation simply ending in an awkward silence. And so I decide to go into detail.

"I got us on that train." I proceed with my speech. "~I~ failed to tell Treek and Nina why they couldn't just knock out the driver. ~I~ decided it was a good idea to send Tolan and Cari after you, fully knowing that nothing good could come out of the situation."

Nobody is saying a word as the awkward silence befalls me before I manage to articulate more words.

"None of you are carrying any fault in what happened. I gave the orders and none of you are responsible for what resulted from them. So you shouldn't punish yourselves for something I told you to do."

Now only looking at Nina, I get an idea of how I might be able to cheer everyone up a bit.

"Remember what Nina had to learn after joining?" I ask the group, expecting to see some questioning faces, but only receiving mild confusion as the regret is still written in everyone's eyes.

"We don't punish each other for failing an order." I continue, now trying to transmit some hope with my voice.

"So none of you should punish themselves either." I end my speech, before faces finally start moving again and I manage to kick start a dialog.

Treek is the first to give a comment and stands up to address everyone.

"You're right." He says while looking at me before turning around to face the others.

"We can't punish ourselves because of something he did." The Treecko suddenly starts accusing me while pointing towards me.

I don't like the tone he uses and what he says isn't what I was trying to tell everyone. I don't want the kids and Nina to be mad at me for making them commit murder, but from the sounds of it that is exactly what Treek is saying.

With that in mind, I try to interrupt him but he doesn't give me a chance and I don't even have to as he elaborates his statement.

"But I'm not saying that we should be mad at Cyder instead. He suffered just as much as we did. His injuries will heal over time, but only because he wants them to heal and is going to treat carefully for the time being."

After a short pause during with he stops pointing at me he continues. "We have to do the same: we have to allow our emotional scars to heal. And the first step to do that is forgiving ourselves for what has happened by realizing that it was an accident."

He takes a small pause before proceeding to talk in a reduced and more personal tone. "Don't think I'm not going through the same regret, but I know that I will never be able to forgive myself if I just give in and let the remorse take over."

"I know you think it would make you feel better if you'd find a way to let it all out. And I know you are searching for that way. Yet even if you'd find it, you won't be able to cope with it afterwards. You'll just keep looking for another opportunity to unleash it."

"The only possibility of dealing with something like this, is to stop looking for that way and continue to live like you did before."

He abruptly stops talking and sits back down, allowing me to see the others again. Their faces are still focused on me and I feel their eyes puncturing my body, yet not from hatred like I feared when Treek first started talking, but from compassion for me and themselves.

Treek made it quite clear that I suffered just as much as they did, but the mood starts lifting as tiny bits and pieces of hope start flooding the air. The hope I was wishing them to finally be able to feel again. The hope I need my friends to have. And the hope I require my family to share, for otherwise I would not be able to feel connected with them.

A smile begins forming on my face as I let it fully encompass me before watching it spread of the faces surrounding me. And after the hope is encumbering everyone, I feel myself begin able to speak again.

"Don't forget that you none of you owe me anything." I begin and continue after a short pause. "You are always here for me and I'm the one who owes everything to you."

I wait a moment before finishing my statement with a thank you, followed by Tolan and Cari setting aside their break first and walking over to me.

"Sorry dad." Cari says while rubbing her nose against my cheek.

Looking over at Tolan, he starts petting my forehead and whispers into my ear.

"We should have remembered what you always tell us..."

And after a short pause he continues to whisper. "What's done is done."

Glancing at Nina I know that she would follow, but doesn't feel like it's her place to just start making body contact with me. Yet I am satisfied by her hopeful smile and widen mine, before I close my eyes and start savoring the presence of my kids.

Because they are the reason I am still able to hold onto hope. Without them, there wouldn't be any hope left inside of me. Without them, I wouldn't know what to do with my life. And without them, no amount of ~what's done is done~ could soothe my heart and give me back that hope.


	40. Racist

We've been travelling north for a day, before we finally found something we could use to determine our location. The remainder of the last day was uneventful and we spend the night in a ditch next to a dried up river bed.

Tolan and Cari appear to be back to their former selves while Nina is still a bit depressed, something that constantly being infected by the kid's joy would surely cure in time.

Treek has been at my side the whole time and had been helping me whenever I had troubles to continue forward because of my condition.

At one point we had to cross a small river that wasn't as dried up as the one we slept next to. And while not very deep, only managing to reaching up to Nina's ankles at its deepest point, it was Treek who carried me across. I took great care not to light him on fire while he was carrying me, something I actually managed to do before he gracefully sat me down on the river bank on the opposite side.

Nina carried Cari across. And after helping me, Treek went back to help her and carry Tolan. Together they managed to do just fine and the cooperation really seemed to help her cheer up, since afterwards she began taking apart in our conversations again.

Treek was telling us about the layout of his hometown. It is quite a small village and even though I've been there before, it all sounded a bit different than what I can remember from my first visit. But I put his exaggerations aside and began focusing on our travels.

A while later we crossed paths with a road leading westwards. When hitting it, we just came out of one of the pine forests that were seemingly covering every hill in the region. And after carefully making sure that we would be able to travel unnoticed, I pulled down my hat and began following Treek as he started leading the party west and towards our goal.

It wasn't long until the path leads us to something we could use to pinpoint our location. And while it isn't a town, it is a road sign informing us of the distance to the next town.

~ Sariko 12 km ~

I know the town. As a matter of fact: I've been there before. Maybe not because I wanted to, but I've been there nonetheless and am finally able to tell the group where we are.

"I know that town." I say excitedly, finally being able to determine our exact location. And while I don't know the exact road we're on, I do know where it Sariko lies and can use that knowledge to plot a more precise course for Gloom Woods.

Feeling lighthearted, I turn towards my kids to play a little game with them.

"You might know Sariko as well." I begin speaking to them.

Having grabbed their attention, they don't appear to know what exactly it is that I'm talking about. And as Nina arrives next to them after having hung back a bit from the exhausting and ever-so-slow pace we were going because of me, I speak up again.

"That was the village Jacob and me were heading for in my story."

Tolan must have realized what the village was the moment I said ~Jacob~, since he was trying to interrupt me and answer for himself. But I was too fast and gave the full answer before he had a chance.

"Aw man." He says instead. "I knew that!"

"Don't worry." I laugh to cheer him up. "Next time you'll know."

Interested about what I'm talking about, Nina first stretches her arms and then her legs before speaking to me with a puzzled expression.

"Who's Jacob?" She begins asking. "And while have I never heard you talk about him before?"

"He was the predecessor of your boss, so to say." I answer, hoping that she wouldn't remind my ember about him too much.

"What happened to him?" She insists.

I sigh and try not to let her see that remembering it is hurting me, before I quickly form my response and simply state. "He died."

Though not satisfied with my answer, I don't give her time to inquiry more question before I start thinking out loud in order to change the mood.

"OK." I begin addressing the group. "Since I know where we are right now, I can safely say that our previous guess for our location was a bit off. We are already much further north than I originally thought, so..."

I get interrupted as Treek taps my shoulder, causing me to immediately spin around.

We are still standing on the gravel road and I can see a shape coming into view. Further towards the west, the road starts heading down a hill. And there, just where the slope falls out of view, I can see a Doduo minding his own business and walking without looking up or having noticed us.

I quickly check my hat and can confirm that it's still in place like it should be, obscuring anyone from noticing my scar. Now the only thing left to hope is that this 'mon won't recognize us, though that is something we should be able to expect since he doesn't seem appear to be with the military, who we should have left behind us quite a while ago.

With a day's walk already between us and the train accident, and us being far inland while constantly walking away from the capital and the border, we shouldn't be at risk of running into any stray military officials at this point anymore.

With the 'mon heading for us not having noticed us thus far, Treek signals us to casually follow after him as he starts heading directly for the Doduo.

"Day." He casually says as the Doduo comes into hearing range.

But it still hadn't noticed us, and startled by Treek's unexpected voice it looks up before hesitating a moment and returning the greeting.

"Day to you." One of the heads simply states while the other remains silent and doesn't even honor us with a glace, before the first one stars back down to the ground and the creature continues to walk away from us.

Sharing its determination of keeping eye contact to its minimum, Treek looks away from the bird and back to the road, casually continuing to stroll down the path without looking back.

We walk for a few more meters, before we are interrupted by a voice longing for our attention.

"Hey!" The Doduo is shouting from behind me.

Startled, everyone turns around to the 'mon before Treek does the required and responds.

"Yeah?" He asks, signaling that he is paying attention now.

"Do I know you?" The Doduo asks interestedly.

Nina is starting to get uncomfortable and begins shaking a bit. But standing next to me I am able to touch her leg with my paw and calm her down.

'Don't do anything suspicious.' I think to myself, hoping that my thoughts might somehow be transmitted to her.

"Dunno." The Treecko answers. "I've been here before, but you might be confusing me with another Treecko."

"No." The Doduo answers before turning around, now looking at us with both of its heads. "I'm not talking about you."

The bird starts walking closer towards us and while still trying to calm down Nina, I feeling myself beginning to shake as well. - Thereby doing the exact opposite of what I was trying to do when I grabbed ahold of her.

I notice my mistake and immediately let go before stepping back.

"Yeah." The Doduo exclaims.

"I've seen you before." He says, now looking in my direction.

I can feel the tension rising as the bird continues to come closer. Everyone would be ready for the inevitable fight once he'd come close enough. Since I had been letting my body rest for the last day, I actually managed to get the feeling over my core back. And even though activating it would hurt quite a bit and most definitely not help me in my recovery, I feel the necessity of flaring my ember in an attempt to help with fight in any way I can.

"Yeah." The Doduo says again as tensions are about to reach their maximum. "Aren't you that Vulpix kid from Sariko everyone's been looking for."

I finally notice, that it isn't me he is looking at as his eyes are staring at Nina instead.

'Vulpix?' I wonder to myself, before Nina jumps up and takes the opportunity of taking ahold of the situation.

"Are you talking to me?" The says irritated.

"Um... Yeah?" One of the heads is responding while the other is just tilting in confusion.

"Do I look like a Vulpix to you?" Nina continues. "'Cause I'm no Vulpix."

"You're not?" The bird asks out loudly, still in a confused tone.

"I'm a Zorua you ignorant racist!" Nina yells, growling at the bird as it takes a step back in shame and fear. "What makes you think I'm a Vulpix. My fur isn't red; I'm not a fire type; I'm not even from around here."

Taking another step back as Nina takes a few towards the bird, it begins to apologize.

"Sorry... I... I was just..." It begins babbling, almost falling over when getting one of its claws stuck on the road.

"You were just leaving!" Nina exclaims, fully having taken ahold of the situation. "Or you'll never forget who or what I really am."

"Sheesh." The head that had previously remained silent sighs. "No need to get mad about it..."

Nina continues to wear the stare of death, as the Doduo finally turns around and begins heading the way it was walking before it started talking to us.

After a while of continuing to stare down the fleeing bird, Nina finally turns around and looks at our surprised faces. And following her eyes flying across our faces, I notice that Treek is just as astonished about her reaction as I am while the kids are staring at her in awe, mesmerized by the way she handled the situation.

Releasing the faked rage she had held against the bird, Nina closes her eyes and while looking down to the ground lets out a sigh of relieve herself before looking back up at us.

"Don't ask me why that 'mon thought I was a Vulpix. As a matter of fact: that wasn't even the first time someone thought I was that specific fire creature."

She wrinkles the fur on her forehead before returning to a normal facial expression and starting to addressing us again.

"We should continue moving, though. If that Doduo comes back and we're still here, he might actually get suspicious."

"Thank you, Nina." I say before looking at Treek.

Noticing that he was the one who was leading the group before, he snaps back to attention and retakes the lead.

"Oh right." He mumbles, turning back towards the road heading for the downwards slope.

"You're good at this." I can hear Cari utter as she walks behind me.

"Yeah." Tolan adds. "You really send that 'mon running."

"It wasn't really that hard." She starts explaining. "Actually this is exactly what they taught me to do when I want to keep up a disguise."

"When I have to make sure someone believes something I say, I just have to make them think they're stupid. In this case I was able to lower his self-esteem by calling him a racist."

She sighs as I continue to listen in on her explanation. "Though the problem with this approach is that it doesn't work if the 'mon you're trying to outsmart is really smarter than you are or simply doesn't slip up, thereby not giving you an opportunity to call out any of his mistakes."

"And nobody ever taught me how to react in a situation like that, which is also the reason why your dad figured me out so fast." She finishes her explanation, before rising her tone and apparently addressing me. "And I know you're listening in on me, Cyder."

I swallow and turn around, trying to wear a face like I had no idea what she is talking about.

"See that?" She says after our eyes met and having turned her head to face Cari walking besides her. "Now I've made him insecure because he thinks he did something wrong by listening in."

'She actually tricked me.' I think to myself while raising my eyebrows, putting on a smile and shaking by head, before taking a look at Cari interestedly listening to Nina.

I use the opportunity to check if the bird can still be seen walking down the road. But already having started to traverse the slope, I can't see it anymore and turn back towards Treek, telling him to stop because I still have to discuss the direction we'll have to into next.


	41. Past Life

"Hey Treek." I begin talking to the Grass Type. "Going back to what I was saying before I got interrupted: we're much further north than I originally thought. From here on we should mainly focus on heading west, and we might even have to head south a bit."

"Yeah." He responds. "I figured as much from what you already said."

Treek continues to lead the group while I start thinking again, articulating my thought so he can listen to them. "I guess the train wasn't as close to the capital as we thought originally. It must have taken a detour."

"Oh no Cyder." He interrupts me, causing me to snap to attention and look at him. "You're not going to get all regretful on my watch. You couldn't have known that."

"Sorry." I respond in an apologetic tone, realizing what Treek must be thinking. "I wasn't trying to make it sound like that. I was just stating the facts."

Treek turns away from me and starts looking down the path before dismissing what I just said and changing the subject. "Should we continue to travel on the roads? We'll make much better progress and it doesn't look like anyone around here remembers you."

"We shouldn't risk it." I respond. "At least we shouldn't actually walk through Sariko, since someone might remember me from last time."

"OK." Treek finishes my thought. "We'll stay clear of towns, but we'll travel the roads if doing so would come in handy. - Just make sure you don't drop your hat..."

He turns around to face me again and I give him a nod before being interrupted by a familiar voice from behind.

"Talking about Sariko..." Tolan begin. "Can you continue your story while we're walking?"

Not stopping for a chat, I simply turn around to see the owner of the voice having walked up to me and now traveling to the left of me. Looking past Tolan I can see Cari and Nina longingly looking at me as well.

I give a defeated sigh and nod, wondering why I felt the need to sigh as there is really no reason not to help the time pass. – Except for having to remember that one particular character.

"Since Nina doesn't know what happened thus far, why don't you two start by giving her a brief summary of what I've already narrated?"

"OK." Cari exclaims excitedly, psyched about talking to Nina, while Tolan falls behind the two of them as the Cyndaquil starts talking.

"Daddy was hunted by this Jacob 'mon..." Cari begins, already skipping half of my story directly cutting to the chase, before Tolan interrupts her from behind to continue the summary.

"And he had just managed to melt the chain that was holding him."

Nina already appears a bit overwhelmed, since she doesn't know all the events that lead to me getting captured. – And while she probably already knows about the part of me getting captured, she decides not to mention it as her eyes widen alongside a smile appearing on the foxes' face followed by her nodding in understanding.

I turn forward for a moment, to make sure I don't trip over something and check up on Treek walking in front of me. He had turned around as well, but the moment I look at him he turns back to face the road.

"But this Jacob was guarding him and they transporting him to the capital." Cari interrupts Tolan in return, something he doesn't take kindly and instantly interrupts her back.

"And they were just about to reach Sariko to rest there for the night."

Since that is pretty much as far as I told the story, I turn back to see Cari trying to think of something to say so she can have the last word. But not being able to come up with some major detail, she decides to give up after noticing me looking at her.

"Yup." I grab Nina's attention again, as her confused face rotates to look at me, making it quite clear that she doesn't fully understand what really happened. "That's about where we are right now."

Most definitely not satisfied with the information she was given, Nina decides not to question it any further, as to not make Tolan and Cari have to wait for me to explain everything to her in greater detail. And instead she just gives me a nod before I look back at the kids excitedly smirking at me, impatiently waiting for me to finally continue the story.

-

We were just about to reach Sariko and I had succeeded in melting one of the links of the chain that was supposed to hold me. Something I managed to do after communicating with my ember for the first time, thereby noticing the potential stored inside my elemental core.

Jacob hadn't noticed anything suspicious and was still enjoying the early evening as the Breloom continued to operate and regulate the wagons engine while I was waiting for us to finally arrive in town.

'The driver said a quarter of an hour.' I thought to myself. 'Shouldn't that time have already passed?'

But my thoughts were cut short, when the Breloom spoke up for an announcement.

"Here we are, boss. - Sariko."

I turned around to look at where we were heading, and sure enough I was able to see some houses lining the otherwise empty road we were traveling down.

Thus far I hadn't dared to actually take too many looks at where we were heading, in fear that I could slip up and reveal the broken chain I had so carefully been concealing from the two of them behind my back.

Firmly grabbing ahold of the broken link and shuffling my body to sit on it, I turned around as the Nidoking raised his voice, addressing the driver.

"Ugh!" He said and continued while grinding his teeth. "Finally we're here. Your driving's been killing me."

"Sorry..." The Breloom responded, trying to apologize for not really doing anything wrong. "I was doing the best..."

"Just shut up." Jacob interrupted him, annoyance apparent in his tone. "Just put her off the road, set up the tent and finally make some dinner. - I'm starving."

'How is he starving?' I wondered to myself, considering that the creature must have had more than a dozen apples by now. But still mad at the beast, I did my best not to give my ember another reason to flare and pushed the thought aside.

A moment later the constant rattling finally subsided, and I was met with the blissful tranquility I already had an encounter with during the break in which I was released from the cage.

'Maybe it was just the constant movement that got you so worked up.' I thought to myself, directing the thoughts at my ember. Something I shouldn't have done as paying attention to it proved to work against me, resulting in the feeling of the flame growing inside of me.

I knew it was trying to remind me of what the Nidoking had done. That his actions resulted in the death of my best friend Treek.

-

I can't help but notice the questioning look on Nina's face, as her eyes pan around me and look at the grass type. And pausing because I notice her confusion, Treek takes notice of my pause before turning around to meet Nina's wondering gaze.

Their eyes meet for a moment, before the Treecko shrugs his shoulders and turns back to the road. And while Nina doesn't appear satisfied at all, she doesn't dare to say a word and interrupt my story telling before I continue.

-

Anyhow... the Breloom finally halted the cart right in front of the town and of the road, before turning off the engine and jumping off.

Jacob stood up as well and joined the driver on the ground before starting to stretch his muscles.

I took another peek at the Breloom trying to do the same, but got startled when the Nidoking noticed Barry relaxing and immediately began scolding him.

"What are you doing?" He said with even more irritation in his voice than before. "I told you to set up the tent and make me some Arceues-damn dinner!"

"Right away." The Grass Type responded, instantly stopping his muscle stretching and proceeding to slip under the cart and out of view.

I began hearing him tinkering with the cart while I turned back to notice Jacob now facing me, apparently having waited for a chance of addressing me. And giving him that chance by looking at him, he started talking to me.

"You're going to stay right there for the night." Be began. "But don't worry: you won't get lonely. I'll be sleeping at your side, - or rather in the back of this cart. So I guess we'll be sleeping buddies, friend. - I mean ~Quill~."

I wished I could release the range I could still feel bubbling inside of me, but I knew I couldn't risk him getting suspicious. So I didn't respond and remained silent while waiting for what was going to happen next.

Jacob turned away from me again and continued his muscle stretching, punching and biting the air a couple of times while I could still hear Barry tinkering under the cart.

But after a moment the tinkering stopped and I could see the grass type dragging some wooden sticks and a big green blanket out from under the carriage.

'I assume those go into these nooks I noticed before.' I think to myself, while interestedly watching Barry do his job. Yet Jacob must have understood my interest as a thread and thought I was looking for a weakness in the apparition.

"Don't worry..." He began addressing me, causing me to snap away from the Breloom starting to tinker with the nooks and putting the sticks into each other to form long and bendable arches. "If the tent breaks, I'll be there to protect you."

"No. No." I tried to defend myself. "I wasn't thinking about something like that. It's just interesting to see how this apparition works." Something that wasn't even a lie, since I truly was only interested in how this tent worked.

And since I was telling the truth, Jacob must have realized that he gone a bit too far, considering we were supposed to be friends as he actually started apologizing.

"Oh. OK. - Sorry." He said. "You're right: we should use all the time we have to teach you all you need to know about the technology we already have."

Closing his eyes, he looked up in the sky and gave a hearty chuckle before facing me again. "We don't want you to re-invent the wheel since we already have that, eh?"

I tried to put on a smile as well, something I actually managed to pull off quite convincingly before I turned back to continue watching the Breloom. And looking at him I hadn't noticed before that he was already back on the cart and was just finishing to secure the first arch.

He must have taken care to keep his distance from me while working, seeing how he was a grass type and I was the same fire creature I've always been. But while looking at him working, I notice something about him that I didn't understand at the time: he didn't really seem to enjoy his work. And while he was near me and I was able to take a good look at his face, I saw a painful scar running across his cheek.

I didn't dare addressing him, as doing so would probably result in Jacob jumping in and stopping us in one way or another. But our eyes did meet for a moment as he inconspicuously threw a look towards me. His expressing was transmitting the same hate I so desperately, but still successfully managed to hide it and I instantly knew what the story behind his scar was.

He was just as much of a victim as I was. Dominated and beaten into obedience, he held the same hatred against Monster I was holding. And just as it was with me, it was fear of the consequences that prevented him from acting on the hate.

Probably realizing those fears, he snapped back to attention after our eye contact lasted for only a couple of seconds, hidden from the distracted Nidoking still enjoying the evening.

The Breloom continued to do his job, at no point speaking a single word and without Jacob feeling the need to scold him again. And soon after he finished the job as he strapped the blanket over the wagon's arches, finishing the task of creating a tent overtop of me.

But no time was wasted as I heard more scurrying when Jacob returned inside of the back of the cart, blocking the entrance and carrying a lantern in his claws.

I was very interested in the lantern, since I was surprised that its light wasn't originating from a fire. And being a fire elemental myself, I hadn't even considered the possibility of lighting being produced from sources other than fire.

When I looked at the sun earlier that morning, I could tell that it was a giant fireball in the sky, sharing its heat with all of creation in the way that seemed so much more natural than any other of the miniature fires us 'mons may be able to create.

Jacob sat down the lantern before turning around to start shouting at the Breloom again. But I was still too perplexed by the wonder of this light to understand what he was saying. Unlike my fire or even the fire of the sun, this light neither felt warm, nor alive. It was cold, white and constant. Its rays weren't dancing on the walls of the tent and I wasn't able to see any joy in its glow.

But it was still interesting enough to keep my attention for a while, before I was finally distracted by Jacob holding his head out through the back of the cart, still shouting at Barry.

"How long 'till you get off your lazy feet and start serving dinner, huh?"

I was able to hear Barry's response, but his voice was muffled and didn't sound nearly as confident as the Nidoking's. "It'll be ready in a couple of minutes, sir."

"Grrr... It better be, or I'll be considering to change my diet to include more mushrooms."

I could hear some weak babbling alongside the tinkering on the other side of the blanket getting louder, while the Nidoking turned back towards me as I quickly returned my gaze to look at the strange light source that appeared to be hovering inside of the lantern standing in front of me.

I knew that I would be able to explain my interest in the glowing sphere of strange light, something I didn't even have to as Jacob followed by eyes looking at the lantern before starting a conversation about its identity.

"Ah." He began. "You probably already noticed that this isn't any regular fire, like yours or the sun's."

Absentmindedly, or possibly just my deep state of thought, I just nodded while continuing to stare at the unnatural, frozen or dead glow.

"You probably know what this really is, but this is what we call a Luminous Orb." Jacob continued while he picked dup the lantern. "This is something you left us behind in one of your past lives."

Operating a small lever on the underside of the lamp, the glowing subsided and the tent was flooded with darkness again. But with the light of the setting sun falling through the thin canvas and the wide open entrance behind Jacob, I could still see what was happening.

The lever turned off the light and unlocked one of the glass panels on the side of the lantern as it swung open and allowed the Nidoking to carefully take out a small, blue glass sphere.

Holding it up in his paw, he began speaking again.

"This was one of the wonders you bestowed upon this great nation, when you were still known as Tokaru. - Over four hundred years ago."

Handing me the sphere, I am overwhelmed by its mystery while Jacob continued to talk to me. "A lot has changed since your last visit..."

"The world has changed and some of your former friend stopped being friends."

I continued to eyeball the orb, as it emitted a low humming resonating through my arm and through my skeleton into my head, where is echoed in my ears. Yet it didn't hurt or feel bad like pretty much every other form of tremor I had felt before then. And I knew that whoever originally designed it truly knew what they were doing, but I still didn't believe that that someone could have been me. Mainly because I really knew nothing about Orbs and didn't have any recollections of my so-called past life.

"You told my ancestors that only friends shall hold the powers of Orbs." Jacob continued, finally causing me to snap back to attention and look at him while he was talking.

"But when you disappeared without notice, nobody could find you. And while my ancestors continued to do their best to life by your model, a lot of time passed and generations changed. Friendships were broken and knowledge was lost, while you were never found."

"Yet here you are, seeking out the descendants of your true friends. Returning to help us re-establish those long lost connections."

The new information given to me was confusing me, but I knew I couldn't show my confusion in order to keep up the appearance that I knew exactly what was going on. And so I nodded before looking back at the Luminous Orb.

Rotating it in my hand, I same across a small engraving on the other side, along with a small button. Even though I couldn't read it at the time, the gravure written in tiny footprint runes read ~Luminous Orb~ alongside an even smaller set of rules directly below, detailing a simple set of usage instructions, stating that the button must be pressed so the Orb can start producing its light.

But not being able to read the inscriptions, I started experimenting with the Orb, not paying attention to Jacob. And as I pressed the small button, the orb weakly began to glow with the dead, white light I had already seen it produce.

I immediately noticed that the strength of the glow was affected by how firmly I was pressing the button. And only pushing it in a tiny bit, I was able to look inside the dimly lit sphere to see what it was that actually powered the orb.

There in the center of it, I could see a small flame. Frozen in time, it wasn't moving and was appearing to stand still, neither living nor dancing to the rhythm of life but simply existing purely on the edge of what could be considered being.

Noticing my admiration, Jacob offered me his paw to return the orb to him while he began explaining.

"From what I understand." He began. "And I might be wrong with this. But Luminous Orbs have like this time-field where they freeze the fire of a candle."

Finally offering him the orb he grabbed it while continuing his explanation. "The flame is not actually dead, but it's time is like passing extremely slowly, so it appears to be frozen."

Putting back the orb into the lantern, I still continue to watch interestedly and listen to his explanation. "So when you press that button, it allows time to get inside and touch the flame. Or something like that. - The papers you left behind on this thing were way too complicated for anyone to decipher. But they did teach us how to build these things."

Jacob closed the hatch of the lantern and operated its lever before the cold and lifeless light of the frozen flame once again flooded the tent.

"Sir?" I could hear the voice of the Breloom from behind Jacob.

I didn't know how long he was already standing directly behind him, but from what was apparent to me, he must have been standing there for a while, waiting for a good moment to present the food he was holding in his claws.

Jacob turned around and I could see Barry standing in front of the wagon's rear end, unsure of what to do next, before overcoming his fear and addressing the Nidoking again. "Your food is ready."

"About time." The Nidoking growled, as he ripped two cans out of the grass type's paws before turning his back without even thanking him.

"Here you go, Quill." He said a moment later while handing me one of the cans.

"I know it's not much, but believe me: it's the best we have in stock."

The can must have been heated and a very tasty smell reached my nose. Since that was the first time I was able to get my paws on some real food, I was overwhelmed by the inviting taste of the goulash soup, spreading its aroma within the carriage and enticing me to grab it before my stomach could start rumbling.

Lured into submission by the tasty smell, I wasted no time and grabbed for the can the Nidoking was willingly offering to me and began digging in.


	42. Outplayed

The food tasted great and there was no doubt on my mind that prepared meat beats raw flesh by more than enough to convince anyone to always cook their meat.

For a while I forgot about my situation. I even managed to forget that I was dining with the murderer of my best friend, but the pleasure only lasted for a while and even before I finished my dinner, I started to think about the upcoming night.

'Once Jacob is asleep, I have to get out of here.' I thought to myself while I let my body continue eating the food that was given to me. 'From what I gathered thus far, Jacob will be sleeping in here with me. So once he's fallen asleep I'll have to sneak my way around him. So I'll have to try not to fall asleep while still acting like I am and wait for the Nidoking to really do.'

Continuing to ponder my thoughts, I remembered that there was another threat I'd have to consider. - The Breloom.

With that in mind, I gave my best and started a friendly conversation with my captor.

"Hey." I said casually, grabbing the attention of the Beast as it was licking the remainder of the goulash sauce from the can's lid.

"Yeah?" He responded equally as casual.

"What happened to Barry?" I asked, noisily slurping the remaining fluid out of my own can.

"Why do you care about that 'mon?" The Nidoking responded and I knew just what to say to get him to tell me.

"From what you told me, I assume he's supposed to be my friend." I answer sheepishly. "So I'm just wondering how my friend is doing?"

"K." Jacob answered, before continuing after producing another loud slurping sound. "I think he's sleeping in town at an inn."

That was the information I needed and with it received I stopped pushing the discussion and returned my attention to the remainder of the food in my paws.

'So I won't have to look out for that guy.' I thought to myself. 'With him out of the picture, I'll just have to hope that Jacob is a deep sleeper.'

Some time passes while I continue to go through the plan multiple times, hoping that my ember was listening and remembering what it had to do. - Nothing, especially when I would have to sneak by Jacob, trying not to have him wake up with the rattling produced by the chain's portion still connected to my legs, hopefully not having my body taken over by my suppressed hate a second time.

After both me and Jacob had finished our meals he stretched out his claw, requesting me to hand him my empty can. And after handing it to him, he proceeded by throwing both empty cans out through the carriage's back before closing some sort of curtain I hadn't noticed before, thereby trapping me inside and forming yet another obstacle I'd have to overcome before being met with my freedom.

"Ahh..." He roared, champing his teeth and using his claws to pick at a piece of the meat that was stuck between them. And after finally managing to get ahold of the flesh, he looked at it for a moment before throwing it back into his mouth and swallowing.

Being done, he turned back to look at me as I was staring back at him before he began talking again.

"That was some good food, eh?" He asked for my opinion. An inquiry I couldn't deny and answered to by nodding and licking my lips, noticing that some of the fur still tasted like the soup's water.

"OK." He said again a moment later, not looking at me anymore but instead stretching himself and staring at the roof of the tent.

"Unless you've got something else to talk about, I think we should call it a day, right? So if you don't mind: I'll turn off the light and get to sleep. - You should get some too, because tomorrow you'll get to meet the emperor."

I had no objections and some more time passed. Jacob had simply gone ahead and extinguished the frozen flame before lying down on the floor next to the entrance of the wagon.

More time passed and I was starting to have troubles keeping myself awake. I knew I had to push through, but the fear the Nidoking had planted in me was still holding me back. Yet I knew that sooner or later I'd have to overcome that fear and proceed with my plan.

I don't remember when the moment finally felt right, or if I actually had fallen asleep for a while before reaching it. But at some point I decided that the time then and there and I began my attempt at escape.

Since I had already broken the chain and was still sitting over the disconnected link, I had been able to conceal the fact from Jacob and the driver until this point. And I knew that I wouldn't get another chance if I wasn't going to grab the one that was given to me at that moment.

With the plan still fresh in my mind and confident that my ember had listened and wasn't going to unleash its fury at the wrong moment, I took the first step towards my freedom by unhooking the broken chain link my ember had bent open for me.

But that was the easy part, as half of the chain was still connected to my feet, meaning I'd have to carry it while being careful not ring the sleeping Nidoking awake with it.

It was fairly dark, but the sky must have been clear and some moonlight was falling through the thin walls of the tent, allowing me to see what I was doing as I carefully and most importantly silently picked up the disconnection portion of the chain.

'Well...' I thought to myself. 'The first part's done. - Now for the hard part: getting past this beast without waking him up.'

The Nidoking had fallen asleep directly in front of the exit to the carriage's tent, taking up most, if not the entire width of the cart. But to my luck I noticed that he had fallen asleep a bit further to the left side of the wagon, leaving a tiny gap between his body and the right wall of the tent, barely big enough for me to squeeze through.

'Go.' I told to myself in thought, convincing my body that the time to take the chance had come. And to my luck my body surrendered to my will as we proceeded to sneak up to the creature.

As I came closer to him I was able to hear his breathing. He wasn't a snorer, so it was the first time I noticed a life sign coming from him at all. So after hearing that first sound, I froze solid for a moment before realizing that Jacob was still just as asleep as he had been before.

'It's OK.' I successfully convinced myself before my legs started moving again and I began squeezing by the beast.

Everything was going quite well up until that point, but just as I was about to reach the half-way point with the tightest squeeze against the wall of the wagon, I misjudged the width of the gap and accidentally bumped the chain against the wagon's wooden rim.

A weak, but most definitely noticed rattling of the chains I was holding hitting the wooden portion of the wall could be heard. Preventing the chains from making any sounds had been hard enough until that point, seeing how they were connected to my legs, but I still managed to get this far and was shocked to hear the clattering, causing me to freeze solid and frightenedly stare at Jacob.

My heartbeat was echoing in my ears and it felt like it stopped when Jacob began moving one of his arms.

'NO!' I yelled in my mind, knowing that I had been detected and there was no chance left to return to the other end of the wagon before Monster would detect my attempt at escape, possibly responding to my disobedience with another bucket of water.

But my luck returned and I wanted to loudly exhale in relieve when I saw that Jacob was still asleep and had simply shifted his position. Something that was actually going to proof helpful to me since he shifted further to the left of the wagon, widening the gap between me, the wall and him.

Suppressing my sigh and focusing on breathing silently and steadily, I closed my eyes for a moment and took stock of myself. I knew I wasn't safely outside and still had to open the back of the tent before I could finally breath that sigh still stuck in my chest. And opening my eyes again, nothing had changed before I returned my gaze to the back of the carriage, now only a few more steps away from me and without another tight squeezes I'd have to overcome.

Taking the advantage of the situation I proceeded onwards, now taking extra care not to accidentally trip during those last few meter, or just as bad, hit the side of the wagon again. And tightly holding the chains so they wouldn't rattle, I finally managed to reach that goal.

The entrance was closed, but I could already see the outside world through a thin gap between the buttons connecting the two sides of the cloth covering my exit.

Obviously I knew what to do. I simply had to unbutton the canvases and proceed outside. But the problem I was going to have was the light from outside. As I already noticed before, it was an unusually bright night and the incandescent moon was flooding in the sky, meaning that opening the cloth covering the exit would surely let in much more light than I was comfortable with.

'It's a risk I'll have to take.' I convinced myself again. 'I came this far and Jacob is still asleep. I'll just have to risk it and hope he doesn't wake up from the moonlight hitting his face.'

My worries were appropriate, since the Nidoking was facing me at that point. With his head pointing towards the back I was as close as ever to the face of the beast. And if I wasn't going to be careful, he would only have to open his eyes to instantly see me tinkering with the door while I wouldn't even notice his him awaking before probably getting knocked out.

I swallowed and averted my gaze from the resting head of the creature, looking back at the cloth representing my next hurdle.

But I reached the conclusion to simply not unbutton the entire canvas, mainly because I didn't want to let more light than absolutely necessary hit my captor, but also because some of the higher buttons were completely out of reach the reach of my stubby Quilava paws.

If I remember correctly, I successfully unhooked the lower three buttons before I felt like the gap would be big enough for me to fit through.

But my challenges weren't over yet. I'd still have to get through the hole without clattering the chains still bound to my ankles against the walls. Something that was just as hard as it sounds, as looking back I had the most amount of troubles with that specific part. I couldn't let a single moment pass without having to make sure that the chains didn't have any room to swing back and forth or clattering against each other. So I had to make sure that they were tense enough while still making progress and taking care not to fall.

Though after some more time, I somehow managed to find my way outside. And while it was really tough to get there, the first thing I allowed myself to do after touching the ground was to let my lungs breath that promised sigh of relive. The fresh air instantly reinvigorated me, with new hope and determination to start my real escape, away from the carriage and never to be seen again by Jacob or anyone that would want to capture me.

After feeling the force of life rushing back to me, the first question I asked myself was where I should head for. Looking around I saw a tree line a few meters away from me and the town lying behind. But I came to the conclusion that I should probably head away from any civilization for the time being, meaning that the forest was the best choice of direction to head for next, even thought it'd be running the danger of getting attacked by more ferals.

Tightly holding onto the chains still bound to my legs, I started heading for the tree line, already making plans on how I was going to melt away the rest of the annoying metal rings as the first thing to do in the morning. And I could feel the fatigue returning, now that the hardest part was finally over and done and I could enjoy my well-deserved freedom.

But my composure was cut short as something hit me in my back. Unlike before I wasn't unconscious yet and even able to turn around to see the aggressor. Deep down I was hoping that it was Treek, who had returned to rescue me and now was more than happy to see that I manage to escape without his help.

But the reality was much less pleasant, as I saw the Breloom holding me to the ground, grinning his scar written face at me before beginning to speak.

"Oh no, you don't!" The Creature stated. "You're not getting away from here."

'Jacob must have lied to me.' My brain began to race, filling my body with another dose of anxiety and returning me to my former wakeful state. 'But maybe not all is lost.'

"Wait!" I whisper to him, hoping that he would give me a chance to bargaining for my freedom before yelling Jacob awake, leaving me to pay for my escape attempt.

My hopes are met as the grass type stagnates and looks back at me, only moments before he would have awoken Monster.

Not waiting for him to ask what the matter is, I stare him in his face before starting to talk to him again.

"Please don't do this." I solicited him. "You must know Jacob doesn't have anything good in mind for either of us just as well as I do."

The Breloom remained silent and continued to stare back in my face, not letting any of the he force was putting into holding me down fade while I continued to bargain.

"I saw it in your face." I said quite literally, thinking that I could see a glimmer of understanding for a moment. "He was the one who did that do you."

It was clear to both me and him what I was talking about and I could feel some of the force fade as the glimmer of understanding grew.

"Please." I begged him. "You have to release me or he'll use me to hurt millions even more severely that he hurt you."

The Breloom was still holding me down, but even if he would have let go at that moment I wouldn't have ran away. I felt myself getting connected to the creature since I could tell that he understood what I was talking about.

"I can't." He finally began to whisper back. "If you're gone, he'll kill me."

'So Jacob must have commanded Barry to be on the lookout for me.' I started connecting the dots. 'That must also mean he still wasn't fully trusting me, but I should have already gathered that from when he scolded me for paying attention to the tent.'

"Come with me." I tried to argue, hoping that I might even get a new companion out of this.

"No. I have a family and if I'm gone he'll kill them instead of me." Was the answer I received, crushing that hope but still leaving me trying to make the Breloom understand my case and why it was so important for me to remain free.

"Please." I said, still not giving up. "You must know it's the right thing to do. And before you say that you can't, you should know that I'm the Holder."

I rolled my eyes upwards to hint at my scar and the eyes of the Breloom followed and widened a moment later, releasing most of his weight from my paws to the point where I could have actually pushed him off of me. But I wasn't planning in abusing the trust he put into me, as I continued to persuade him.

"If you take me back to them, they'll force me to build weapons for killing their enemies." I said and elaborated upon after a short pause.

"And if you don't release me, you'll have to carry the weight of all those deaths until your own demise."

The Breloom let go of me and I knew I had successfully persuaded him.

"Go." He said. "I'll take the blame and keep my family s..."

But he was interrupted as a giant, purple shadow hitting him in the side and sending him flying across the street. Barry wasn't even able to yelp out in pain and I saw no further movement coming from him, before my body froze and my attention fell back on the shadow.

"How heartwarming." The shadow began to speak in the voice of Jacob. And as my eyes finally adjusted to the shadow now towering over me, I saw the Nidoking I had designated as Monster swiping his claws at me and picking me up.

"But ya should'a stayed inside, buddy." Jacob said before throwing his left fist into the side of my head, sending me back to the world of dreams that he should have been a part of instead of me and letting what little of the moon-lit terrain I previously saw vanish.


	43. Lies

The next time I woke up I was back in the cage, as the carriage was once again rattling over the land, sending its tremors through my body and making me sick to my core. And as to be expected, Jacob was with me in the back of the wagon, not looking at me but definitely having noticed that I regained my consciousness.

"You're lucky the emperor still needs you..." He began talking to me, looking onto the landscape before glancing over to me.

His face was filled with hatred and I knew he wanted nothing more than to rip the fur of my skip, as memories of the water bucket encounter rushed back to me.

"Because you're off my list." He continued, now staring at me with his burning eyes.

The fear was back and I knew I wouldn't be able to regain his trust, even if I had enough time on my hands. So I decided to put aside the idea of escaping for the time being and instead try to find out more about my new situation. The wagon was definitely on the move again and it was day, and from the looks of it: early morning. So with me finding myself back in the cage, I wasn't able to take a look around and instead decided to find out if I'd still be able to ask him any questions.

"What happened to Barry?" I asked as the first thing that came my mind.

Jacob turned his head away from me and I thought I wouldn't get any response at all. But I didn't have to wait too long before his conceited voice answers my question. "He lost his place on my list, just like you did..."

After a short pause he turned his head back to face me again, with some of the anger I had previously seen turned into in a smug expression. "But like I said: you're lucky that you're still on the emperor's list of friends. Because unlike you I'm not a liar and was telling the truth that he wants you as a companion."

I started to get mad again. And fueled by that rage over the way he was speaking down to me alongside the fact that I had to find myself back in that wretched cage, I lost control and my ember started venting its rage against the beast.

"What kind of friend do you think you are?" I shouted, pulling the chains holding me with flames leaking out my back and muzzle. "You said you wanted us to be friend, but all you did was knock me out, put me in a cage, bribing me with apples, dump a bucket of water on my head..."

Jacob seemed to enjoy hearing my accusations. And as if that was all he ever wanted to hear from me, he started smiling and laughing at me.

"Bwahaha!" He yelled. "I don't think you understand what a friend is."

My anger simply continued to grow and I could feel the flames starting to leak out of my back in a bright, hot flame, licking against the bars of the cage while Monster continued to make fun of me.

"You stupid piece of..." I yelled, being interrupted by the laughter of the Nidoking. "You're the one who needs a lesson in what friendship is!"

"Look who's trying to educate me!" He exclaimed, finally getting ahold of himself and stopping to laugh. "I don't think you're in any position to be playing the teacher."

His mean smile quickly turned back into a smug grin before he inched towards me.

'That's right.' I thought to myself. 'Just come a bit closer and I'll show you what my ember taught me...'

But Jacob didn't come as close as he had the day before when he was talking to me. And instead he kept a distance too great for my untrained ember to overcome before starting to speak again.

"Don't you think I didn't know you were just acting?" He began in a serious voice, actually surprising me with the statement.

Previously I had assumed he was buying my act and I was actually gaining his trust. But then I remembered how he lied to me about Barry sleeping at an inn in Sariko.

I started paying him my attention while trying to hide the fact from him as he decided to elaborate.

"Do you really think I'd be the personal assistant of the emperor if I'd be as stupid and gullible as you apparently thought I am?"

He was mocking me and I hated him for it. No. - Not only for that, but his mocking only added to my anger, as I couldn't hold myself from finally venting some of it.

A misguided fireball flew out of my mouth, even surprising myself with the fact that I had such an ability. It wasn't aimed at anything and simply flew straight into the sky where it dispersed into tiny flames a few meters above my head, completely vanishing a few moments later.

But Jacob wasn't as fascinated as I was, when his relaxed expression turned angry again.

"'You need to cool down again?" He asked while hinting at a bucket, probably filled with water standing where the other one had stood the day before.

I retreated a bit and was no longer pulling on the chains, but my anger was still present. Yet at that moment something came to my mind that I hadn't thought of before.

"What if I just won't help you?" I asked. "If I refuse to work for you, you can't make he do this wisdom thing!"

"Don't you remember?" Jacob asked unexpectedly, with surprise on his face.

"Remember what?" I responded, still grinding my teeth.

"Why you came here." He answered casually, confusing me ember even further. "You came here to help us finally take what's ours. - The new world. But judging from how you acted thus far, you don't remember at all."

Absolutely puzzled about his statement I shout out in confusion without even thinking about what I was saying. "I remember nothing about anything like that. The first thing I remember is being in a cave."

"Oh really?" He asked before giving me a look like he wasn't believing me. "You don't remember your life as Tokaru? You don't remember how you gifted my ancestors with the tools to rid this world from those who want everything for themselves?"

The rage over such an accusation flowing back, I continued to shout. "I think you're misreading the history books. I have no idea who that Tokaru is and I can promise that I would have never fought for someone like you."

"Well..." Jacob answered, leaning back again before responding. "Until you get your memories back, I guess we'll just have to find different ways of making you cooperate."

While not looking at me, his voice changed again and added in a sinister tone. "Believe me: we have ways..."

I was lucky to even catch the last part as it wasn't spoken directed at me. But the words still enacted fear in me and I once again found myself reminded of the water bucket standing next to the Nidoking.

Some time passed and I didn't know what else to say. Jacob was still giggling from time to time, probably laughing at me. And looking back: it was very stupid of me to assume he had fallen from my act. I should have considered the possibility that he wasn't really trusting me, but the one thing that was still confusing me was why he even let me get far enough to escape at all.

With that in mind I began talking to Jacob, finding myself void of most of the anger I held against him before. "Why even let me get as far in my escape as you did?"

Having looked into the landscape thus far, the creature began speaking to me again in a calm tone.

"I wasn't lying when I said that I'm related to the friends you had when you wandered the world as Tokaru."

Interestedly, I continued to listen to him as he turned towards me. "I guess you must have heard me calling you a prisoner in front of the others."

He was correct and I remember back when I saw him speaking to the Slowking.

"I had to call you that because my orders are not to let them know who you really are and safely get you to meet the emperor."

I wanted to get suspicious but decided to let him finish explaining himself. And so I remained silent and continued to listen contently.

"Your coming was foretold and we knew where we could find you. But the streets aren't safe anymore and orders were to safely and secretly get you to the capital at all costs."

"But when I came back in the morning to get you, the door was open and you were gone. At first I thought you were kidnapped. But the fact that nobody but me knew who you were had me become suspicious that you may have lost your memories in the stone avalanche caused by those idiots I send to get you. - Something I'm finally starting to believe must have really been the case. That's also the reason I came back to check on you after I made sure you were given the best treatment possible to have you healed at quickly as possible."

"But since you were gone the next day, I told a few of my closest comrades who you really are before instructing them to find you in the surrounding woods."

'So far I can't find anything wrong with this tale.' I thought to myself while I felt more and more of my anger leave my body, as the flames already stopped leaking out of my head.

But my rage quickly returned as I took a moment to think, only to remember all the horrendous things I've already witnessed the beast having done. 'He killed Treek. He tortured me with that bucket. – There is no way he could be telling the truth.'

"When we finally found you, you were with that Treecko. So I assumed he was the one that kidnapped you and decided to remove him from your presence."

"But since you ran away from us, I remembered my primary mission of bringing you home. So I commanded my comrades to capture you before you'd run into any more spies telling you lies."

I wasn't sure anymore, if this was just another attempt at persuasion or if he was telling the truth. But I found myself able to resist falling for another one of his lies and ignored his words. Mainly because it wouldn't fit the other things he had been doing and telling me since the first moment I heard him talk.

"I'm not going to fall for another of you attempts to persuade me into working for you. If all of that was true, then why wouldn't you just tell me that from the get-go. Instead you were trying to manipulate me, when apparently you're supposed to be the good guy. And Treek most definitely wasn't a spy. He told me about the war you're waging against Korana, because you think that this ~New World~ belongs to you."

"It had become quite clear to me, that you must have lost your memories. So I was fearing that you'd never believe the truth if I had told you this from the beginning." Monster retorted, adverting my accusations. "You thought you were a prisoner and so I let you believe that in the hopes that you might remember on your own."

That moment I swore to myself to never believe anything that Jacob might ever say again. The explanation for what he had done appeared too weak for me to believe it. I knew he was a liar, with every word that had escaped his mouth since the start being meant to deceive me, in the hopes that I'd be stupid enough to fall for them. I wasn't even sure if he really saw through my act from the beginning. And it started dawning on me that he only said he did, because he wanted to make me feel stupid.

Finally feeling like I was ahead of him in this race of the minds, I began stating my final response to his fairy tales.

"I don't believe you one bit." I said, narrowing my eyes and clenching my teeth. "I'm not going to fall for you lies again."

"Be that if you want." He responded immediately, looking away from me again. "But know that at no point did I ever lie to you, whilst you were doing nothing but deceiving me from the get-go."

'Your mind tricks won't work on me.' I laughed to myself, smirking but not letting the smug appear on my face. 'You want me to feel bad, but that's not going to happen.'

And knowing that I wasn't going to get anywhere if I continued speaking with him, I did the one thing he wouldn't have wanted me to do and stopped opening my mouth entirely.


	44. Mercenary

More time had passed and nothing was happening as Jacob was still playing his role of being the ~good guy~ while I continued to suffer from the rattling of the cage. The constant back and forth was really starting to make me feel sick again. And just like the day before, I found myself unable to counteract the vibrations I constantly had to suffer while the wagon nonchalantly continued to rattle across the terrain.

I found myself wondering who was operating the cart now, remembering how Jacob stated that Barry was no longer a friend to him. Because I saw it in the Breloom's eyes that he was earnest with his determination to die for his family and the millions of lives that would be safe at this point if Jacob hadn't woken up. And judging from the way that the Nidoking reacted, I knew that he must have overheard the Grass Type's intentions.

Yet I still began to wonder if Barry's turning good was just another detail Jacob's seemingly scripted course of action, but I found myself unable to put the grass elemental in the shoes of someone willing to cooperate with the Monster.

Ignoring some of Jacob's casual attempts at getting the conversation between us going again, at one point offering me some apples and at another asking me if I regained any of my memories yet, I started watching the terrain pass to look for any abnormal things to monitor and distract me from the sudden jukes and constant shaking.

Much more hills were filling the landscape that day. At least when compared to the flat plains I saw the day before. At some point I noticed a waterfall spewing its liquid into a small pond. The pure sight of it let my fur stand on end and caused me to both quickly and fearfully look away, as I found myself reminded of the pain that the substance could cause.

But after a while of watching the terrain pass by, I failed to find something new I could lay my eye upon. The trees all began to look the same and the distant mountains didn't appear to have moved at all.

Only one thing had changed. And as I stretched my neck to look up at the sky, I saw huge pillows of white, vaporized water filling the sky.

The sun was still shining brightly and no rain was to be expected, but looking at the various shapes of the sky's giants, I began to wander if there was just a single option I had left that would allow be to regain my freedom.

'Free like nature.' I began to think, not knowing where I was going with the thought as Jacob started another attempt at conversation.

"'You at least remember how to get to the library?" He asked while I didn't pay him any attention and continue to stare up at the sky.

'Free like the wind.' I thought to myself again, as my eyes feel upon a winged creature just having disappeared behind a cloud.

'That's the life.' I found myself thinking while I begin scanning the cloud the create had disappeared behind in an attempt to locate it again.

But my searches proved to end without success as even the clouds began to all look the same. And without the creature reappearing I was once again reminded of the poor state I found my body to be in.

But just as I lowered my head, hoping that something may have changed, giving me the opportunity to continue distracting myself by staring at the landscape, the winged created reappeared from behind the same cloud I previously saw is vanish behind.

With me facing backwards, I watched it plummet head-first to the ground to the right of me.

At first I was shocked, but as I continued to monitor the surprisingly heavy being, I was able to watch it catch itself mid-fall, swinging its body around in order to face the wagon before continuing with its descent.

It was gliding through the air, carried by two big red wings with a blue torso and white teeth below its two fiercely looking eyes. Its face had pointy spikes sticking out of both sides while dragging a long winded tail colored the same saturated blue and red as its wings and body behind.

Jacob hadn't noticed it, but I couldn't keep myself from staring at the sight. And even if my speech hadn't been taken by the fascinating appearance of the creature, I wouldn't have found myself warning the Nidoking or even talking to him about the possible threat.

I knew nothing about what would be in store for me, but all of my attention was focused on the creature as it silently raced towards us and I suddenly realized that it wasn't the wagon it was heading for, but instead it was me and my cage that the dragon had focused its eyes upon.

It came closer and closer and mere moments before reaching the carriage, it established eye contact with me and my surprised expression.

My heart was racing and it seemed like time was running too fast as the winged creature continued to head straight for me, not enacting any sort of slowdown before it would eventually reach me.

Probably out of reflex, I clenched my eyes shut and awaited what was going to happen next.

Dozens of questions and explanations began flooding my mind. 'Was this fierce looking beast here to force me into submission?' I began to fear for my life. 'Is it going to kill me before I can ever find out who or what it is? ...Maybe it's going to carry me the rest of the way to the capitol.'

But my thought process didn't yield any conclusions in the milliseconds that were left before the creature would arrive, with Jacob finally and surely noticing its presence as well.

Yet after the milliseconds had passed in practically no time what-so-ever, I could feel a sudden and very intense jerk. Much stronger than anything the carriage had been able to put forth, as the only logical explanation immediately became apparent to me.

I opened my eyes and while I was still bound to the cage, with my arm spread out and fixated to the individual corners of the metal cube like they were yesterday, it was what I saw beyond that had changed.

No longer was there a wooden floor underneath me. No longer did I see the Nidoking sitting on front of me, sending me a smug look from time to time or trying to sweet talk me into submission.

Wind began rushing into my eyes and as I had re-opened my eyes, my stomach felt like it was being ripped apart. But I was too distracted to notice the aches as I was able to see the carriage quickly disappearing.

Probably because of the fact that the cage had previously been mounted to the cart, with one of the many chains now dangling in the air current behind, it had fallen over, burying the Nidoking alongside the new driver who- or whatever it was under a solid wooden floor.

But my stomach wouldn't let me ignore it for too long, and just as I was about to realize what had happened, I felt a tingling in my throat. A tingling that I failed to suppress before I found myself watching some of the goulash soup I had eaten with Jacob last evening leave my maw.

The feeling of the food scratching my throat managed to distract me and even though I could hear and feel the immense force of the air current pressing against me from the side, giving me the feeling that it was just narrowly avoiding to break my bones, more of the food started to reappear, leaving me to start coughing uncontrollably.

"Get back!" I thought I could hear Jacob shout out, immense anger present in his voice while trying to get the attention of the creature flying off with me and my cage in its claws. But with the sudden urge to cough while my throat began to burn from the food practically being squeezed out of my stomach, there was no way I could have been sure of what I heard.

The cart got smaller and smaller while the terrain shrunk as well. The dragon that had abducted me and my cage had decided to return to the clouds I had been watching when I was still in the back of the cart. And with my cage facing backwards I had troubles looking the way we were heading.

The air current pushing against me was immense. After the coughing urge had finally subsided, probably resulting from the fact that no more food was left that could have been squeezed out of me, I wanted to speak with the dragon, a Salamence as I later learned, hoping that it was a friend and wanting to make certain that it came to rescue me from my fate. But even if I would have been able to shout against the constant force of air pushing against me, I was starting to have troubles keeping my physical body from sub coming to the harsh environment I found myself being exposed to.

The thought of it all just being a dream crossed my mind. That every moment now, I would just wake up only to find myself back in the cage, having to stare at the Nidoking attempting to persuade me with another apple. But even as I blinked my eyes, reality didn't change and I was still able to see the terrain pass underneath me with the headwind not giving me a single chance to figuratively catch my breath.

"Relax, Creature." A voice suddenly reached my ears and I knew that it was the dragon talking before it continued as if knowing that I was wishing for nothing more than answers. It didn't have any troubles speaking against the current while stilling having the words reach my ears, even managing to drown out the constant rushing of air blowing into my ears while its deep and menacing voice continued. "I'm on a mission to rescue you, Quill."

I immediately knew who must have given him that mission, as the only important detail that I immediately noticed was the name it used to address me. A name that while known to Jacob as well, Treek had assigned to me. And I knew who must have assigned the mission. And I knew that I could rest easily, knowing that what was happening now most definitely wasn't part of Jacob's scripted happenings.

And I was going to be correct as the dragon continued to fly over the lands, not caring even the slightest about the effect the pressure was having on me. I saw mountains and trees fly underneath me as we flew just below cloud level. Lakes and roads were never visible for more than a minute before vanishing out of view and being immediately being replaced by other sights to behold.

But our course changed, as the creature was beginning to descend after having flown just below the clouds for less than five minutes.

But I was too distracted by everything that was happening, not even caring about the headwind attempting to rip me apart as the only thing holding me in place were the chains binding me to the corners of the cage. So I simply assumed that the dive was meant to make the trip more comfortable for me, giving me a chance to breath from the ticker air that can be found closer to the ground.

The terrain continued to pass in amazing speeds, and as the dragon veered around a mountain most definitely high enough for me to suffocate if I had to breath the thin air at its tip, it began speaking again.

"I assume this isn't comfortable for you." It said, again having no problems to counteract the air current while I knew that its voice was still reaching my ears through conventional means. "But try to hold on. It's not much longer before we get where we need to."

None of the terrain seemed familiar, but considering I only spend the last couple of hours of my journey watching the trees and hills pass, I continued to assume that we were heading the way I had come. Because I knew that I was returning to what was taken from me. I knew that it would be the Grass Type I had come to know and trust who would be waiting at our destination.

So even though I didn't really have any other choice, I decided to trust the Salamence. Not only because attempting to escape and falling from this great of a height would surely kill me, but also because cage I was bound continued to hinder my every movement.

We flew over a particularly large lake and I saw a wooden object floating on the waves. It appeared to me empty and as I later learned, it was probably owned by a Water Elemental currently busy underneath the surface where, probably catching some Magikarp.

Seeing the boat, the dragon veered to the left and avoided contact with the empty vessel. And shortly after, I could see the boat leaving my view as the lake came to an end as well.

The journey truly wasn't much longer, as the dragon decided to update me on our progress again.

"Get ready." He informed me. "I'll be landing in a few moments."

Our travel speed started to drop and the reduced air pressure immediate managed to ease the pain I was starting to feel in my joints.

I saw another big mountain coming into view. It was surrounded by a thick forest of old looking trees, but just like every other landmark I had seen thus far, I recognized neither the forest nor the mountain.

I began to get impatient, as I knew who it was we were expecting to meet up with. I should have considered it beforehand, or at least after I swore to mistrust everything the Nidoking said. But I never considered the possibility that Treek might still be alive while Jacob still had a grasp on me. - That the Treecko may have gotten away and Jacob only implied his death as a part of his act of trying to break my spirit.

The happiness started boiling up and I wasn't even bothered by the air pressure pressing against me anymore. Nor did I care about the fact that considering all the rocking, flying is an even worse form of transport than riding a cart or being forced to set paw on a boat.

My cage had started swinging back and forth wildly, making it quite hard to cope with the stress my body was under. But I couldn't care less about any of it.

'My friend is still alive and I'll see him again in but a moment.' I thought to myself, not even considering the possibility of a catch, seeing how this magical rescue wouldn't have executed itself. But at that moment I was too focused on my joy. And as the mountain apparently designating our goal constantly grew closer, our travel speed began to decrease as the dragon was preparing to land.


	45. Rules And Rest

My voice has gotten rough from all the talking. And because Treek told me to be considerate of my body, I decide to stop telling my story for now. I had been talking almost the entire afternoon at this point and I think I managed to stop everyone from constantly being reminded of what happened last night.

Treek has been leading the group the entire time, but still did listen to my story telling. I wanted to suggest to him that he should tell the kids what he did while I was captured, but it has already gotten late and we should better start considering to find someplace we can safely stay at for the night.

Only walking on all fours sure did help my body regenerate and after a while I started to get used to constantly using both my arms and legs. And even though I know that I won't be back to traveling on two legs once the next day rolls around, I can safely say that getting fed more than a dozen Sitrus surely did have a positive effect on my health.

Looking up at the sky I can see a few clouds pass over. We are in a forest and not much light is hitting us as we continue to walk. Most of the horizon is obscured by the thickly standing trees, but somewhere in the far distance the sun is setting right now, surrendering the sky to the cold reflections of the moon soon going to take its place.

Neither the kids nor Nina had any objections to me stopping the story at the point I reached today. And even Nina seems content with not knowing everything there is to know about me. And looking back I'm glad the kids didn't mention the memory of the crystal pyramid.

I never did find out what that memory was about. Even though I spend half my life searching for its meaning while constantly running from the governments, I never found a single reference to what it could have been all about.

Not even the library of the ancients had anything to say about the object. Not saying that I didn't find more than enough information about crystals and pyramids, even some pyramids made out of crystal. But none of the things I found had anything in common with my memory.

The closest thing I found was a natural stone formation that was used in a scepter for a king that died literally thousands of years ago. The scepter, now apparently lying at the bottom of ocean west of Sazari, had a pyramid-shaped stone worked into its metal. But it was just that: a gem. It didn't have any special powers, like glowing red and exploding, nor did it ever get any attention during the time its owner held any relevance.

I continued my search and found nothing, leaving me to have stopped searching for it nowadays. From time to time though, like right now, I remember back at the memory and start wandering what its meaning could have been or might still be. But enough attempts at comprehension have gone by and I've realized that no amount of contemplation I could do on my own could ever lead me to any sort of conclusion.

The only reasonable theory I was able to come up with, was that I truly did lose my memories before coming to this world. I was able to confirm that Jacob had been actually telling the truth about his heritage and the fact that each line of Holders consists of a single soul that will always keep the memories of its previous lifetime.

And assuming that I did somehow lose my memories when entering this world, I guess the pyramid had something to do with it. But whenever I reach that point in my thought process, the next logical deduction would be that the library of the ancients must be holding the answer. - Leading back to the original problem, in that it doesn't know about any pyramid that fits my description.

'Oh yes.' I think to myself, while I continue to trot behind Treek. 'The library of the ancients...'

We're still wandering the woods and the sky is slowly changing its hue from the fiery red of the setting sun to the deep and dark blue of the night spreading its shadow over the lands. Nobody says a word, as to not distract the Treecko as he is looking out for any potential camping spots. But the tree trunks stand too far apart, not giving enough cover from a random passerby.

Being this far inland, we don't have to worry too much about accidentally running into a military installation, so at this point our main danger isn't the government. - It's the 'mons that live in these parts. Without the supervision of the guild that once overlooked this region, there is no one to stop criminals. Treek knows this as well, and with me not being anywhere near completely healed, my body will need all the sleep it can get. Meaning that Treek will either have to find someplace we'll be safe from the reaches of any crooks, or it's going to be him who will have to do guard duty for most of the night.

Returning back to my thoughts about everything that happened and all the mysteries still unanswered, I continue to stare at the ground and ponder my thoughts.

'Like I said to Treek, I did remember what the second floor of the storage building reminded me of.' I begin wondering. 'And I was quite honest when I said that it shouldn't have happened. But putting all the shouldn't-haves aside, there is only one explanation that would make sense.'

I remember back to the stinging in my forehead when entering the building. I felt it again just as I was falling asleep after Treek and I returned from our trip during which we found my new hat.

I know of only one particular thing that could cause something like that room to just suddenly appear and disappear. And I know that it must have been the Library of the Ancients that we went to. 'Treek and I were in there. - Together.'

The thought of it just sounds too wrong in my head, since the restrictions on how even I can access the library are quite well defined, leaving no room for interpretation and include many safeguards capable of handling any situation in which rules might be broken.

I should have realized that I knew the stinging the moment I entered the storage building in the first place. Whenever I make a connection with the library I feel that stinging. But never before did it just go off on its own. Never before did I make a connection without the explicit intention of doing so.

'I wasn't even thinking about the library at the time it happened.' I try to reassure myself, formulating the thought into a sentence but not speaking it.

'The rules and restrictions are just way too clear.' I think to myself, remembering back to my first time I was able to enter it.

I knew what I should have been expecting. I was told what it would be like and I was told how I could get there. It is quite a complicated process, but it involves a deep state of concentration and focus, leading up to the aforementioned stinging that would signal the success of the undertaking.

But the important part is that I was told of the restrictions associated with entering the library...

I continue to think back to the inscriptions detailing the process, as Treek read them to me from the temple wall we found them on. Most of them were detailing restrictions that would be encountered in case ways of illegally entering were discovered. Because there are ways of overcoming the precautions. But definitely not on accident or without intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the library. - Something I've never even dared to look at, in fear of losing control over my ember and having it reveal this crucial information at a time most unfitting.

Most of the rules are meant to help the holder of wisdom control the flow and spread of knowledge. Because if there is one thing that makes me and my access of the library special, it is my power over that spread. The ancients knew quite well that knowledge is power. And that inappropriate and unrestricted usage of such power will lead to nothing but destruction. That is why they devised the library as a warehouse of their knowledge, only available to those they destined to be sensible enough and capable to use that power responsibly.

Their society was collapsing. Leading to an end they brought on themselves. An end caused by the unrestricted spread of their knowledge among their kind. Too long did they search for the knowledge that could set an end to their collapse, and too late did they realize that it was their never ending longing for knowledge that brought their doom upon them.

The library and the different lineages of Holders are their legacy. There to make sure that whoever or whatever would inhabit the planet during the eternities following their demise wasn't going to repeat their mistake and blind the world in the double-edged flame that is knowledge. But instead live their existence to its fullest, modeling a society to a level of knowledge most suitable, rather than constantly tearing everything down to make room for the new and improved without considering the impact on the world as a whole that doing so would have.

The ancients must have been gone for millions of years by now. Nothing of their inheritances but the library and the lineage that I'm apart of remain. No one remembers who or what the ancients were and they themselves took care to remove their identity from their ever growing archive of knowledge, not wanting to have those that would follow look up to them only to repeat their mistake.

Because there one fundamental truth that the library could never conceal from anything that is sentient. Knowledge can be discovered, often by accident but always without the intervention of a Holder. And it is that fundamental truth that the library's existence is distracting from, robbing the longing of discovering from the 'mons that have inhabited the world since the beginning of their reign after find sentience following the ancients demines.

I'm interrupted as Nina emits a hearty yawn, unintentionally grabbing everyone's attention. The bits and pieces I can see of the horizon are no longer sparkling in the rays of the setting sun. And while I can't see the moon due to the thick canopy above alongside the high mountains surrounding us on all sides, I can be certain that the time of day would already be considered night, and that everyone, including me, is sharing Nina's fatigue.

Everyone except for Treek, who is still determined to find a proper resting spot. And I can't say that his determination isn't appropriate, since we can't just risk sleeping out in the open.

With that in mind, I decide to talk to him about the obvious problem.

"Treek." I grab his attention, while we continue cross over the ever darker growing forest floor. And while his determination prevents him from turning around, I know that he is lending me an ear as I continue talking. "I know you want us to find a safe spot to rest. - And I agree. But we can't just spend the whole night wandering around to find safety."

I take a short pause as the way I was expressing myself didn't imply what I had meant to say. And so I start over. "What I mean to say is: do you know where you are going?"

Satisfied with my correction, I wait for a response from Treek. But I already know the answer as there is no reason he would know any more about the terrain than I do.

I get my response after a moment of silence during with I can feel the others awaiting the answer just as impatiently as I am.

Treek sighs and finally begins talking. "You know I don't really know the terrain. - None of us do. But we have to find something, and we won't be able to find anything at all if we just give up."

With the answer I was expecting received I start wandering why I even bothered to ask, because by doing so all I did was take away some of the other's confidence away.

I want to apologize to him for asking the stupid question, but Nina interrupts me before I'm even able to start speaking.

"What if we don't find anything at all?" She asks, already sounding a little afraid.

Unlike while talking to me, Treek actually stops and turns around to face her before he attempts to answer.

It's been getting darker and darker in every passing second and I am starting to have troubles seeing everyone, only being able to observe the outlines of the team and having to rely on instincts to know if danger might lie ahead. Troubles are only amplified by my lowered point of view being obstructed by random blades of grass and twigs lining the forest floor.

Treek sighs again, but Tolan takes the opportunity and ignites a tiny flame in his paw. He probably only had the best intentions in mind, only wanting us to see each other better. But he forgot the main reason we are looking for shelter at all. It's dangerous here. - Not just for me because I'm hunted wherever I go for being a Holder, but because the inland is filled with crooks much more that the coast regions were.

"Tolan." I whisper to him, anxiety in my voice.

He immediately turns towards me, still holding the flame and staring at me with a confused expression while my fright keeps growing and I start feeling like hundreds of eyes of every predator imaginable are being directed straight at me.

"Put that out." I say, taking care to transfer the worry with my voice. "You're going to attract the attention of anyone watching."

He follows my order immediately and we are once again surrounded by darkness, as the anxiety his stunt put me in slowly starts to leave my body.

And while I close my eyes and take a deep breath, Treek turns back to face Nina.

"As Cyder just implied..." He begins. "We'd have to sleep somewhere out in the open, having to take the risk of getting attacked by raiders or worse."

He takes a pause and I open my eyes before he continues talking. "We'd have to pull guard duty. And since Cyder isn't really in any state where he could defend against anyone on his own, you'd have to pull sentry duty this time as well."

I can see the outline of the Zorua nod before Treek turns away and starts heading forward again, still just as determined as ever to find anything that might provide shelter.

Nobody dares to interrupt the silence again, not wanting to run the risk of alerting anyone who might be watching.

It's been some time now and the darkness stopped growing. Mainly because there is no light left that for it to consume, as the only thing still providing us with any brightness in the glowing of the moon finally having appeared directly above the canopy overhead.

Only a few minutes after the short pause Treek involuntarily took, we reached the edge of the forest. It abruptly ends before the landscape immediately transitions onto a rocky mountain side with only miniscule amounts of dirt and grass covering its rocks, leading to a fairly plain steep cliff reaching into the sky.

Without the tree tops covering the view, I can finally see the sky. It's very cloudy, which would explain why I wasn't able to see the moon from time to time, something I would have expected to see while also resulting in only parts of the moon light actually hitting the ground around us.

Looking up the mountain side, I can't see its tip as it protrudes through the thick layer of cloud, reaching into undeterminable distances before eventually and most definitely finding its end.

But I know this mountain. Not from any personal exercises this time, but because I've had the opportunity to look at maps of the entire world. The mountain is called Mount Vesopar and is the highest mountain in all of Sazari. And while there is a higher mountain in the New World, no one from this continent has discovered it yet as everyone is too obsessed with the ownership of the new continent everyone still knows so little about.

"I know where we are." I tell Treek as my eyes stop staring up the enormous mountain side.

I immediately grab his attention, alongside everyone else and now that we're no longer covered by the layer of branches describing the forest roof, I am finally able to see him and everyone else.

"This is Mount Vesopar." I continue. "That means we've made quite good progress today."

But the only reason I say it is to fill the hearts of Nina and the kids with hope. Hope that what we are doing is not for nothing. Because while already having reached Mount Vesopar is truly a great feat, it's nothing but the half-way point from where we jumped of the train.

In the faint moonlight, I can see Treek nodding to me and the group before forming a hearty smile. He knows of my intentions just as well as I do and plays his part in enforcing the hope in Nina and the two Cyndaquils.

Looking at them, I can see that it is working as they are reflecting the smile before Treek turns away and starts tracking alongside the mountain.

"Hey Treek." I whisper to him, as a thought just crossed my mind. "There is a huge cave system filling the entire mountain from top to bottom, even reaching deep into the bowls of the earth."

After pausing for a moment to collect my thoughts I continue. "If we could find an entrance, we could set up camp inside."

He responds to me a moment later without turning his head. But this time he didn't sigh before starting to talk. "I knew of the cave systems and was actually already looking for an entrance."

After yet another short pause, he continues with a joyous voice. "But I didn't know that they were all interconnected."

"Yeah." I respond sheepishly. "That's one of those things only I know about. I guess no one ever too the time to chart the entire cave system and publish the results. But don't ask me which tunnel connects to what. - All I know is that they are all interconnected and that we shouldn't have to look too long before finding an entrance."

I can feel the interest in Nina and the kids raising and know that they are just about to burst out their questions concerning it. Aside of Treek, none of them actually what it is I do to establish contact with the library, or anything about how I retrieve the knowledge.

But then again: not even Treek knows that he was there with me only a few nights ago. Something I could never speak out loudly, in fear of it being heard by the wrong ears. Because if there is one thing I've learned thus far, it's that my main job is to keep dangerous knowledge from spreading and to make sure that knowledge already released into the public doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

But I manage beat them to them to the punch and change the subject. "Though we'll have to be careful and take extra care that we're not walking into a feral's den."

With the subject changed, I hope that no one will feel the need to ask any more questions about what I was referring to. But my worries are short lived as Treek grabs everyone's attention only a moment later.

"Guys." He exclaims, actually talking a little bit too loud, making me cringe for a moment.

But immediately correcting his mistake, he continues talking in a lower voice. "I think there's an entrance over there."

While saying it he points towards the direction we were walking. And sure enough: I can see a hole in the steep cliff side. Just next to the entrance the mountain is protruding towards the forest, forming a friendly looking wall that blocks the view of anything coming from that direction.

It actually looks very cozy and the thought of this being my permanent home crosses my mind for a moment. But the idea is short lived as I remember why we are here and I can feel the fatigue rushing back at me.

My body is always like this: whenever it gets the idea that it'll be able to rest in a few minutes, it decides on not wanting to wait those last couple of moments before shutting down. Just like it is this time as well and I can feel my limbs starting to get tired.

'Stop it.' I think to myself. 'We haven't even checked if it's safe to get inside.'

'Ops. Sorry.' I imagine my ember responding, growing back what it had already lost and leaving me in the same state I was before.

Treek continues to creep closer to the entrance, followed by me and the kids. Nina on the other hand stays back a bit further, in fear of us actually running into something. But while sharing her feelings of unease, I don't mention or show it and instead begin whispering to Tolan and Cari.

"I won't be able to light up anything." I begin. "So once we're at the entrance I'll need you two to make just a tiny bit of light. But keep it just above the point where the flame would normally go out. And make sure not to turn towards the forest once you've summoned the flame. - Only keep you're light pointed towards the cave."

I can see the outlines of the two Cyndaquils nod in approval and we continue to head to Treek already pressing against the mountain side next to the entrance while looking back to us.

Nina finally notices that she isn't participating and walks up to my side, readying her claws and teeth, ready to fight anything we'd have to fend against to claim the cave.

Finally having reached the cave, Tolan and Cari take a look at me, awaiting a signal to start casting their light.

Not being able to stand in front of them worries me a bit and the memories of me sending them after Treek on the train rush back. 'I did the same mistake back then, too.' I think to myself, painting the images of how bad it could have ended and remembering seeing the Zangoose, split in half by the train passing below me.

My mind isn't taking any regards for my emotions and the memories are being twisted, showing Tolan and Cari lying on the tracks, decapitated by the uncompromising wheels of the wagons.

'Stop!' I think to myself and step up next to them. Actually seeing my kids standing in front of me manages to remove the false images and I continue to walk up until I find myself standing in-between them.

'There.' I practically yell to myself. 'I'll be in front of them. If anyone wants to attack them, they'll have to go through me!'

Filled with the determination, I finally decide to speak again.

"Stay next to me." I tell the kids before taking a deep breath.

"GO." I say, not taking any more care to remain undetected.

With the plan already laid out, Tolan and Cari each summon a tiny flame and we are finally able to see what would await us inside the cavern.


	46. Danger

To the greatest of my relief we are met with nothing. Nothing at all. There is the cavern of course and we finally reached a spot we can claim for our night's rest, but nothing can be see that might pose a risk to our safety.

I let out an audible sigh and my body takes what it already took before, instantly making my legs feel weak and letting me drop to the ground.

"Ugh!" I exclaim. "Thank goodness."

I close my eyes and start letting the fatigue overcome the rest of my me, almost feeling like I'm already asleep. But after a few moments pass during which the others are just as relieved as I am, Treek decides to wakes me up.

"Cyder." He talks to me in a sweet tone, almost chirping the word.

I only respond with a moan, not wanting to get up again.

But the Grass Type is persistent and changes his tone to a more commanding one while repeating my name.

"You can't sleep there. - You're practically not even in the cave."

"*Moan*!" I only exclaim, purposely moaning louder than a real moan would have been. And after a short moment of silence follows, I find the ability to talk again.

"Carry me?" I simply ask, not thinking about my words and not really considering where I am or who I'm talking to as my mind remains in its dreamy state.

"What?" I get as a response. "You must be joking. I can't carry you."

"Ugh!" I simply respond, realizing what a ridiculous suggestion I had just made before finally opening my eyes again.

I can see Nina inspecting the back of the cavern while Tolan and Cari remain at my side like I demanded of them while casting their weak and flickering lights. The cavern is very small and I can't actually see any path that might connect to the remainder of the cave system, meaning that it's either collapsed or that this cavern isn't actually connected to it.

Treek on the other hand is standing right in front of me, looking down at my drained body with an annoyed look.

"Yeah. Yeah." I respond, realizing that it is me who everyone is waiting for, as I manage to win the fight against my body for only a few more moments of control.

I push myself up and after dragging my exhausted form a few body lengths into the cave, I immediately fall back on the floor less than a meter further into the grotto.

I can't hear Treek anymore and hoping that he would finally be satisfied with my position, I close my eyes again while the land of dreams reappears just as quickly as I had encountered it before.

Everything cuts to black and I find myself finally taking the rest I so well deserve after the exhausting walk I had to endure today.

-

"*Bzzt* Security measures one, two, four and six have been broken." An unnatural voice begins speaking. And while I wonder what it might be, there is nothing of interest to look at while a weak echo effect is audible.

"Illegal activity could not be detained." The voice continues after a few moments. "Security measures have failed."

"Level ten countermeasures engaged. *Bzzt*"

Cutting off with the sound a Magnemite would make when it coughed, it feels like I'm back to being alone. And taking a closer look at my surroundings, I find myself drifting through empty space with nothing protruding from the absolute black as far as the eye can see. But before I can start guessing where it is I am, the unnatural voice makes itself be heard again.

Yet this time it is a different, female sounding voice begins talking in a calm tone. And while it still sounds just as mechanical, it doesn't give me any hint as what might be happening either. Yet for some reason I don't feel threatened, as the fact is bothering me even more than I should be from not knowing what I am witnessing.

"*Bzzt* Separating sector QH4-PS7." It begins talking. "Any active personal is advised to leave the area. Self-destruct will commence in Ten! *Bzzt*"

Everything cuts to white and I can see a net of blue dots forming a ring with all of its sides interconnected as it fills the empty space. But I can't move my head at all and unlike I would have expected, the sudden appearance of the white isn't blinding me like it should be. My eyes are locked on the net of dots as they re-arrange to form a three dimensional pyramid.

"*Bzzt* Nine! *Bzzt*"

'What is going on?' I wonder to myself, finally starting to get the feeling that I should be worried. 'I remember that I just went to sleep in a cave, so this must be a dream then. But usually I don't know I'm dreaming while I'm actually there.'

"*Bzzt* Eight! *Bzzt*"

I notice my eyes still being locked on to the pyramid as its sight reminds of the mysterious pyramid I could see in my memories. But unlike the one I've seen before, this one's sides don't appear to be solid, instead consisting of a humongous net of dots interconnected with millions of lines.

"*Bzzt* Seven! *Bzzt*"

At that moment, I start to notice one of the blue dots pulsating red. I don't know how I failed to notice it before as I can't take my eyes off of it now that I noticed. And even though I'm literally unable to look away as some invisible force directly my sight towards the net, there is only one thing that continues to grab my attention-

'Hmmm.' I think to myself. 'Looking at it, maybe this actually was the pyramid I saw before...'

"*Bzzt* Six! *Bzzt*"

With my attention at its highest, I finally realize my situation.

'What is going on here?' I wonder, wanting to speak out loud but not being able to let any of the words leave my body as I'm not even sure whether or not I have a mouth. 'Where am I? And if this has something to do with that memory of mine: what is it?'

"*Bzzt* Fiveeeeee..."

The sound of the voice halts mid-word and continues to blare the monotonous sound of an ~e~, distracting me from any rational thoughts I might be coming up with right now. But the cry doesn't last too long before the blue net laid over top the white background begins to wobble as the net of dots disappears without any trace.

The white vanishes and the black returns, before a moment later I find myself in my body while actually being able to move. But it isn't the cave that I'm at. The shapes of my friends are nowhere to be seen and I know that I'm alone. I can still hear the unnatural cry ringing in my ears as I instinctively try to summon a flame to light up the darkness surrounding me.

The moment the fire appears, the voice cuts out and no other sounds except for the silent breaths of me and my fire can be heard. And finally being able to look around, I find myself surrounded by humongous bookshelves, broken and run down, and filled with all kinds of old looking papers as well as various mystical looking artifacts.

With my mind running at full speed, I immediately try to figure out where I am. And as I find myself able to move my legs, begin by taking a few steps towards a nearby corner, carrying my flame and lighting the way as I go.

Around the corner my answer is given to me. As I almost light up a bookshelf that has fallen over to lean against another on the opposite side of the corridor, I can see a narrow staircase directly in front of me which appears to be leading up to a balcony. Another narrow path leads to my left before ending in a darkness that my flame is unable to reach.

Looking back up to the balcony, I notice a particular cupboard that appears just as familiar to me. Yet the pure knowledge of where it is I am, seem just too unbelieve as I feel the need to proof the theory to myself.

Taking note of the narrow staircase, I waste no time and dash up the stairs while the fire in my paw flickers wildly, disapproving of me not taking good enough care of it. But there are bigger thoughts that take up all of my thinking power.

No pain seems to course through me as I hastily take the steps, but even if there was any pain I'm pretty sure that I would have just ignored it. Because there is a particular item that I need to see if it is still there.

I reach the top of the stairs and with a body that appears to be in perfect condition, like the one I had the last time I was here, I find myself on top of the balcony, looking past the rows of shelves filled with ancient maps to the right of me before letting my eyes rest on a small desk with a burned down candle on top. Yet there is another, much more interesting item sitting atop. Because there, next to the candle, I can see my old bag.

It's just where I left it, but it isn't how I left it. I have no idea what I'm looking at, but from what it appears I'm looking at my bag being on fire. But neither is the flame moving nor providing any light or heat, as the only thing allowing me to see continues to be the fire in my paw, flickering away and not sharing my confusion. The fire is frozen and what little light it manages to reflect shows the frozen flecks of the fire radiating a deep light blue as the bag remains untouched by the destructive force sitting on top of it.

I take another step towards my bag, but before my foot connects to the ground a strong wind extinguished the flame in my paw.

The enormous current pulls me with it, flinging me through the air and off the balcony. But it only appears to affect me, as neither the bag nor any of the artifacts still lining the shelves follow me on my journey.

I get pulled down the corridor this balcony was overlooking, but even through my candle had died, I manage to identify light.  
\- Living light. Light seemingly no different from the one that had lit up my surroundings so far. And as I get flung off the balcony, I meet eyes with its carrier. The creature that is managing to so perfectly replicate the fire that I call my own. Because it is someone I know better than anyone else. - I'm staring into the eyes of... myself.

I see my own form standing next to Treek right in the middle of the hallway. Treek is having his eyes closed, but I can be certain that my eyes have made contact with... well my eyes. But the moment only last for that: a moment. And just as I see myself realizing what it saw while at the same time remembering what I saw, first remembering a shadow before the smoke vanishes to reveal what it contained, the current doesn't let go of me as I continuously get dragged down the hallway.

I remember Treek and me discussing what we had seen before forgetting all about it. I remember thinking it was a ghost while Treek was just as concerned about what it may have meant as I was.

But as I get pulled further and further away from the only remaining light carried by my past self, getting dragged through where a wall should have been, the darkness fully envelops me and the unnatural, female voice returns.

Just like before I am unable to move my body. I can't close my eyes or feel the presence of arms or legs. But I can hear. I can hear the strange voice beginning to talk again.

"Commencing separation of Sector QH4-PS7."

I immediately notice the net of dots forming the Pyramid. It's just as it was before everything started to wobble. And once again I notice the red dot. It's still pulsating, but as I continue to watch without having any other choice, it begins moving.

No lines are connecting it with the other dots and it starts drifting away from the pyramid.

A few moments pass as I continue to watch it. But my attention is reverted back to the Pyramid as the some of the dots it consists of appear to stop giving off light, removing some of the lines interconnecting them with the others before the remaining dots re-form the circle I saw at the beginning.

My attention falls back on the dot drifting towards me. But for some reason it has stopped pulsating red. I stopped bothering to wander what is going on, since I know that I won't be getting my answer until the next time get back to library. Something I won't be able to do if these weird happenings keep on occurring. I need to be in a calm state of mind if I want to summon an entrance, but with all of this stuff happening I won't be able to reach it even if it wasn't for my ember.

The dot drifting away decides pulsating green. And as I notice that it has grown and is no bigger than the other dots filling the background, I realize that it isn't growing at all, but instead heading towards me. It's heading right for me and I start getting afraid of what will happen once it reaches me.

I try to close my eyes, but the attempt proves futile. Not just because I've already determined that I don't have a body but also because whatever it I that is controlling this, probably wouldn't let me look away.

And so the dot continues to head for me, filling me with more and more fright of what is to come.

But the moment the green ball of light makes contact with my existence, everything changes again as I'm finally able to wake up.

-

I immediately open my eyes. And even though I feel partially rested and am filled with enough determination to do anything, I have no idea what it is I should be doing.

I can see Treek, Nina, Tolan and Cari standing around me while I stare at them with big, wondering eyes. Yet before I can say a single word, I am met with an immense stinging in my forehead.

"AH!" I yell, reaching for my head and falling to the ground. "AH! My head!"

"Daddy!" I can hear Cari exclaim, obviously afraid for her father, but the stinging spreads and I can no longer see, feel, or hear anything but the constantly growing pain, alongside an ever louder growing buzzing in my ears.

"Make it stop!" I yell, not even hearing my own voice and not knowing if any of my words leave my mouth. But the stinging is relentless and soon envelops my entire body, as both I and my ember lose control.

"Please!" I start begging, still not knowing if my mouth is moving with the pain overwriting all of the responses my nerves would usually give me. "I'm begging you."

A voice finally cuts through the pain and I am even able to understand what it is trying to say.

"Cyder!" It says and I immediately recognize the voice. It's a voice I could never forget in my live. A voice I swore to never forget, not even during the span of my next life. It is the voice of my soul mate. A create I couldn't care for more than anyone other creature. But this creature was taken from me, leaving me not to expect to hear Lydia speaking just a single other word.

"Cyder!" She repeats and I want to look around to locate her. See her loving, caring smile shine upon me one more time. Hearing her words isn't good enough for me. Not if there is any chance I could see her tender, loving smile accompanying them. I would give everything but that what she left behind just to stroke her fur again, feel her body radiate its irreplaceable energy and will to live. But my body wouldn't obey my demands and my eyes remain shut as only her voice can be heard.

"You have to listen to me!" She says.

"Lydia." I yell out to her, still not even knowing if she can hear me as I know that she might be nothing more than my subconscious mind's way of coping with the pain. "Help me!"

"I can't." She says in a saddened voice before immediately continuing in a determined voice. "There is no time to explain. You have to listen."

I decide to fulfil her plea and gift her with all the attention I manage to spare as she continues without taking a pause. "The library is in danger. You have to..."

But her voice cuts off and is replaced by Treek yelling out to me.

"Cyder!" He yells, extreme fright present in his voice. "Stay with us."

"Daddy!" I can hear Cari whimper while Tolan makes his presence known by sobbing.

"Please." The voice of Nina reaches me too, as the buzzing finally dies down alongside the pain leaving my body after lingering in the tips of my paws for a moment.

But some of it still remains while I regain parts of the feeling over my body and notice that I am breathing heavily.

I open my eyes again and see the others standing over me, with Tolan and Cari pressing against my torso from both sides while Tolan is holding a flame in his paw.

Treek and Nina are standing right above them, looking down at me with very concerned expressions.

I blink and swallow, trying to grasp what just happened. But while neither the memories of my weird dream nor those of Lydia start to fade, I can't get a grasp of what any of their meaning was either.

"Cyder?" Treek asks carefully, causing me to direct my eyes towards him and make eye contact.

"Is..." He begins after a moment, only to interrupt himself as he swallows. And using his own interruption, he states the question in everyone's mind. "What just happened?"

The pain is still great, but despite it I manage to open my mouth. Yet even though it falls open to allow me to speak, I find myself not having the answer to the question. I'm not even sure of ~what just happened~ myself. So instead of answering his question, I state my condition in a single word.

"Pain." I croak, having troubles formulating the single word as I realize that the pain is much greater that I had thought, and that I only felt fine for a moment because all my nerves were numb. But the sounds still must have managed to escape my throat and I can see Treek glancing at Nina, establishing eye contact.

He doesn't have to say a single word and I can see Nina run off, leaving my field of view probably to get an Oran berry as that would be the only thing they could offer me at this time.

Yet before she arrives my forehead starts pounding again, and another wave of the horrendous pain overcomes me, forcing me to close my eyes and wishing I could cover my ears from the bone shattering buzzing it is bringing along with it.

"Cyder!" I can another familiar voice call out to me, as Stormcloud begins talking to me. But after already having heard Lydia, I'm not as surprised to hear her voice at a time like this as I know that I shouldn't spend what little attention I can spare to thinking about what her appearing could mean.

But her voice is clear and crisp. And if it wasn't for my state, I would even believe her actually being with me in the cave.

She doesn't give me a single moment to state a question as she immediately cuts to the point.

"You have to find Tokaru!" She yells, thereby saying something I couldn't have expected less.

But once again, I find myself able to respond to her through the pain in a surprisingly crisp and clean voice. "Do you mean his body?"

"No!" She yells with anger present in her voice. "The library is in danger and he's the only one that can fix it!"

"So you mean my memories. But what do ~you~ know about the library?" I ask, extremely surprised that Stormcloud appears to have knowledge of the library.

"No, Connect the dots..." She yells while my pain is already starting to fade, alongside the buzzing and the sound of her voice.

"Dad!" I can hear Tolan yell. "Please... just stop!"

I open my eyes again to find an Oran berry stuck in my throat. But putting that aside I can see Treek and Nina caressing my body, checking all kinds of vital signs while concerned for my wellbeing. And while Tolan is shouting at my face, hoping to get any kind of response, Cari is carefully biting my arm in a way wouldn't leave me with a wound yet still providing a sensation that would have awoken me under normal circumstances, also hoping to get any form of response out of me.

"I'm..." I finally manage to speak again, having less troubles talking than the first time the pain was fading. And while I know that some of the pain is still in my body just as before, I forgot the base line for comparison and have no idea in how much pain I actually still am.

"I'm here." I simply state, actually managing to say so in a fairly understandable voice.

"Dad!" Cari yells, spitting out my arm and stopping to gnaw on it.

"Cyder?" Treek asks. "Are you... Should we be concerned?"

I wish I knew an honest answer to his question, but I hadn't had a chance to think about what happened in the hopes of finding answers to any of my own questions. But not wanting to concern him anymore that he and all the others already are, I manage to shake my head.

I try to swallow and once again notice the Oran berry stuck in my throat, accidentally swallowing it as a whole in the process, leading me to quickly regain full control over my body while being forced to use that control for coughing out chunks of the fruit currently in the process of suffocating me.

My lively cough seems to calm Treek, as I can see him closing his eyes for a moment before letting out a sigh of relieve.

Nina is just as relieved, while Tolan and Cari continue to tightly squeeze every part of my body that they can get their tiny paws to get ahold of, not showing any signs indicating that they would stop anytime soon while decide to speak again in an attempt tp reassure them as well.

"I..." I begin speaking, or rather croaking, therefor stopping to harrumph before continuing.

And surprisingly I don't feel any more pain, actually feeling good enough to sit up if it wasn't for the two Cyndaquils still tightly gripping me and holding me down to the ground.

"I think I'm actually fine." I state again, thereby finally causing my kids to realize that they are hindering my attempt of getting up as they decide to let me proceed by letting go of me.

After pushing myself up from the ground, I take another look at my surroundings before resting my eyes over the group. I'm still in the cave and everyone is most definitely worried about me and what just happened.

Looking outside, it's still very much night time and the only light flooding the cavern is the small flame alternatingly produced by Tolan and Cari still staring at me in fright.

It isn't long before the silence, that surely only lasted for a moment, is broken as Treek restates his previous question.

"Now I hope this won't send you into another seizure." He begins. "But what exactly happened?"

"I..." I begin, wanting to tell him everything while realizing the importance it might be holding. And knowing that what happened was only meant for me, I decide not to tell him yet, only planning on doing so once I know that doing so can't cause any damages or leak some crucial details into the ears of someone they weren't meant for.

"I don't..." I begin lying, partially stuttering because I hadn't completely prepared what I was going to say while also emphasizing the act of me not knowing. "I don't really know."

My answer is obviously not satisfying at all, but I know that if I remain persistent with denying any knowledge of what had transpired, they will believe me sooner or later. And while it is with a heavy heart that I must lie to them, if there is something that the past has taught me, it's to never speak a truth I can't control the spread or know the extent of. Whereas in this case I can do neither.

My assumption was correct and while all of them continued to caress me, making double and triple sure that I was really OK, I was just hoping that they would stop sometime soon. Because I really needed time to think about what happened.

"You were yelling all kinds of weird things while you were having the seizure." Treek suddenly interrupts his checks while Nina continues to inspect my body for injuries they might have missed before other than the already known wound on my back.

I suddenly found myself being afraid that I actually said all of the things I said to Lydia and Stormcloud while he establishes eye contact with me before continuing to talk.

"The first time you were talking about Lydia and were asking for help. And the second time you were babbling about your lost memories and were asking me what I knew about the library."

I give no response and wear an interested face, acting like I'm interested to hear more of what he might have to say while pretending not to know about any of the things he is stating.

After a while he breaks his eye contact and tends back to the inspection while still talking to me. "I told you then as well: all I know are those rule thingies we found that one time, but I don't even remember any of them anymore."

He giggles for a moment, probably wanting to make me feel better before proceeding with his monologue. "But I guess you weren't actually talking to me or any of us."

Letting go of me, he looks back in my face. "Do you remember who you were talking to?"

I decide to tell the truth, but only about who it was and not what we were talking about. "I was talking to Lydia, like you probably already guessed. And then to Stormcloud for some reason."

"Stormcloud?" He restates my response, not believing my words. "You haven't mentioned her name to me since she left to visit her brother's grave after... well... you know what happened..."

I give him a nod and he understands my response as a required to stop the conversation, which he does as he returns to inspecting my body.

The inspection continues for a few more seconds, but I knew from the beginning that they wouldn't find the reason for my seizure anywhere on my body. Yet I also knew that I'd have to let them try to solve it their way, because since I denied them the knowledge of what actually happened they must be thinking it was some kind of health-related thing. And as was to be expected, they finished shortly after.

"Well..." Treek begins. "I couldn't find anything that would explain this."

He pauses for a moment to stare at me before looking to Nina. Their eyes meet and Nina shakes her head, indicating that she didn't find anything either.

Treek sighs and looks back at me. "If we don't know what could have caused this, we can't risk heading out again tomorrow."

He crosses his arms and repeats his statement in a commanding tone. "We'll have to stay here tomorrow. I don't want you to have another breakdown when were somewhere out on the street or Arceues knows where..."

Looking back at the group, I can see a small smile form on Nina's face, but after realizing that I noticed, the smile vanishes only to be replaced with a determined look.

"OK..." I say with a disappointed tone, understanding his concern and knowing that I couldn't just deny his request without having to explain everything I had remembered happening. - Which would be too dangerous.

With my approval, he finally decides to lie down again, followed by Tolan who was carrying a flame at the point to extinguish it before both he and Cari proceed to lie down next to me, wanting to be there for me in case something happened again.

'They must be so worried.' I wonder to myself, feeling sorry for not telling them. And while stroking through the tangled fur covering Tolan's head, I wish I could forget about my responsibilities and just tell them that it isn't not me they should be worried about. Because I know that what happened had nothing to do with the state of my body and rather something else. Something I have yet to find out what it is.

With it being dark again outside, the only visible light source is the moon shining through the entrance, reflecting its weak light around me while I know I won't be getting any sleep tonight.


	47. Chat

I know it will be some time before I'll be getting any more sleep this night. And while lying on the rough stone floor and looking at the light of the moon aren't the best things to do when you want to fall asleep, I just can't help myself but use the time to wander about all the things that happened.

'I have to find Tokaru...' A thought crosses my mind, repeating the most important facts of the experiences I just had. 'The library is in danger...'

'If the library is in danger it obviously has something to do with me. - After all: I'm the key to get to the library. Maybe something happened during my previous life that caused all of this. Something that probably also caused my memories to vanish.'

'So finding Tokaru would mean I have to find myself, huh? - Or rather I have to get my memories back.'

I think back to my first memory and start comparing it to what I experienced now. 'In my memories the entire triangle was pulsating red before separating into four bipyramids. But this time only a single dot was pulsating and the whole thing consisted of a net of those dots.'

I continue to wander, but after not reaching any more conclusions I get left with a single most important question. 'What caused all of this to happen now? Is it my fault that the library is in danger for accidentally bringing Treek along? But then again that shouldn't have happened in the first place.'

Though trying to ~connect the dots~, I fail to connect any more of them before the statement Stormcloud had made sparks another set of questions.

'Why were it Lydia and Stormcloud that spoke to me?' I wonder. 'I understand why my subconsciousness would show Lydia to me in trying to ease my mind. - But why Stormcloud?'

'Hmm. Maybe I should try to figure out where Stormcloud is now.' I reach as a conclusion. 'Maybe she can shine a light on why she would be in a vision of mine.'

I mentally yawn and decide that I would be going to propose the plan of finding and visiting her to Treek in the morning.

I repeat the mental yawn before finally falling asleep to the question of whether or not I should tell Treek about what has happened.

'No.' I still manage to answer my own question as the land of the sleeping unfolds before me. 'I know I can't tell him that he was in the library with me yet. And for all I know, I could break reality itself if I decided to say anything.'

I finally allow the sleep to overcome me before finding myself falling into a dreamless and restless tranquility.

Surprisingly though, when I wake up the next morning I feel exceptionally well rested. Neither can I feel any of the pain I felt last night, nor do is there any unease coming from the injury on my back.

Making sure that I'm really awake, I open my eyes and check my surroundings. It's still dark outside, but I can see the first little specs of daylight fall through the thick canopy of the forest bordering the mountain and standing directly in front the cave.

I'm the first to wake up and looking around I can see everyone still very much asleep.

With that in mind I lie back down on my back and stare up at the ceiling of the cave. I've slept belly-down, so this is the first time I get to see the ceiling of the cave. Unlike what I had previously expected it to look, it reaches up much higher that I thought. And without an artificial light being casted and the morning sun blinding me from the side, I can't see the top as the sun's rays only manage to light up the immediate vicinity around me and the entrance.

My eyes fall shut and I the events of last night start replaying in my mind.

'What could this danger be that the library is in?' I ask myself, hoping that uttering the question enough times would somehow yield the answer I'm looking for. But just what I knew was going to happen happens, as no answer is emerges with I begin considering more and more of the minor details given to me.

'Like Stormcloud said: I have to connect the dots...' I convince myself. 'If I don't take that literally, I wonder if I can reach any sort of conclusion...'

With my eyes shut I continue to wander about all that happened. The memory of me staring at myself now available from both points of view and freshly burned into my mind, I can't shake the fact that either I must have somehow travelled through time at some point. And even more astonishing is the fact that only now I find myself remembering that I was actually looking at myself.

I turn on my side to get into a more comfortable position. And doing so I notice that the act isn't leaving me with any pain.

But while I am happy about the fact that my body seems to have completely regenerated from the attack by Antar, I still continue to wander about the danger that I was informed of. A fully functioning body will definitely be useful to me in the long run, but nothing else comes even close to answer a single of my many question while every minor detail yields more and more.

'I can be pretty sure that it wasn't a dream...' I begin to wander. 'Are there ways of traveling through time, though. Because I've never check. But what was the deal with my old bag being on fire and burning with that frozen flame. Because I don't remember setting it on fire before accidentally leaving it behind.'

'If it was just a dream, it might have been a metaphor. But then again I don't have the kind of subconsciousness that would leave me with cryptic riddles about my destiny instead of simply telling me what to do. No: there must be something I'm missing here. Some crucial detail. Some extra player that has caused all of this to happen now.'

A random thought crosses my mind. 'Maybe I'm that extra player. Maybe I did something in my previous life that erased my memories. Maybe I came back to stop this from happening, sending me out with only the memory of that pyramid as a warning or something. Was I supposed to have already learned about its meaning by now? Am I already too late to fix this?'

'I mean: my memory of the pyramid was pretty close to what I saw last night... But it was definitely not the same. What I saw wasn't the whole thing pulsating red before splitting into four smaller pyramids. Nor had the shape I saw the solid surfaces like the one from my memories. But no: Lydia and Stormcloud said that the library is in danger. So that leaves me to believe that I'm not too late.'

I turn on my other side and facing away from the morning sun previously having shown its rays on my face I continue to think. 'But they must be connected somehow. Maybe I should tell Treek some of this, because it might be too late before I can finally find the tranquility I need to get my answers from the library.'

"Ugh." I accidentally say out loudly before immediately falling silent and hoping that I hadn't awoken anyone.

But I should have already considered the fact that Tolan and Cari had spent the night resting next to me. And my moaning immediately managed to gain their attention as I can see Cari lying to the right of me flinging open her eyes and staring at me.

"Everything OK, dad?" She asks, still concerned about what happened last night.

While feeling the motion of Tolan waking up on my other side, I quickly response to her.

"Yes Cari." I answer the Cyndaquil. "Thank you, but I'm fine. I'm actually feeling great. It's just..."

I take a short pause to check up on Tolan's progress before continuing. "It's nothing. But I'm feeling much better than yesterday."

Quickly changing the subject I continue talking.

"Is anyone else awake?" I ask, only having intended the question for my kids but getting a response from elsewhere.

"Yes." I can hear Treek and Nina answering in unison, causing to turn over again and look at them straightening themselves.

Thankful for the distraction, I give my kids no time to stop me and push myself from the ground.

"Great." I exclaim. "Because I'm feeling great today. - See: I can walk on two legs again and there's no pain involved."

Demonstrating my ability, I smile and stand up straight and block the daylight falling into the cavern while casting my shadow on Treek.

Blinking their eyes, they are forced to look into the bright sunlight shining into the cave to get a look at me.

"Great." Treek responds. "But we're still going to stay here, no matter how well you claim to be feeling."

Rubbing his eyes and stretching his arms, he yawns before proceeding the conversation. "Like I said last night: I don't want you to have a relapse of what happened last night. Because all of us were really worried for you."

"Can we talk about this later?" I try to change the subject again, knowing that I still have to convince the Grass Type to head out despite his previous statement of not going to do so. Because there is no point in wasting an entire day for nothing.

"We can talk." He responds. "But my opinion on this is rock solid. So you better just listen to doctor ~me~ and do as I say."

Rolling my eyes, he blinks a bit more to adjust his eyes to the brightness as I walk out of the sunlight and up to him.

"I still want to talk to you." I repeat in a serious voice before adding "in private."

He stares at me with a confused glance before shrugging his shoulders. "Fine with me. But how about we begin the day. We've already spent a couple of hour waiting for you to wake up. And if we don't start breakfast anytime soon it'll be late enough to call it brunch."

Pointing outside the cave I notice the shadows being casted by the trees. Some darker clouds can be seen on the horizon and while I previously thought that I wasn't seeing the sun because it was just rising, in reality the sun is already high up in the sky, just short of reaching its zenith with noon being just around the corner.

"Good idea." I say to him while Nina licks her lips and I'm glad that the kids must have already forgotten about me beating around the bush.

'Having that conversation with him won't be easy.' I find myself thinking about the conversation with Treek. 'I have yet to give him any hints as to what might be going on. So it will come as a shock to him and he might not even believe me.'

Feeling the unease spread over my face, I quickly push the thought aside, knowing that anyone looking at me, which everyone is, would know that there's something on my mind. Which is true, but shouldn't be as obvious to them.

"Yes." I say to the group. "I'm starving as well."

Break first commences and Treek begins by grabbing his bag. I hadn't noticed it before, as he must have slept next to it during the night. But as he grabs ahold of it, I can take a peek inside to see all the wonderful food items contained within.

'We won't have any troubles reaching Laizisso with this amount of supplies.' I think to myself absentmindedly before being handed an apple by Treek.

"Here Cyder." He says while putting it in my paw, pulling me back to reality as I still can't help myself not to drift away every couple of moments.

"You've got to get your strength back." He says while pulling out an additional Oran berry from the bag of culinary objects.

But as I find myself staring at the apple, still wondering about my unanswered question, I get interrupted by the berry joining the other fruit.

"Thanks Treek." I say, forcing myself to stop staring at the food items. "I can probably use these."

I'm not even lying, since I can in fact feel my stomach being about to start roaring at the group, unless it is fed within the next couple of minutes.

I comply with its demands and start by taking a noteworthy chunk out of apple before I find myself staring at it again, lost in deep thought.

"You seem like you're not really here." I get interrupted by a statement coming from next to me after some time must have passed.

Looking up from the apple and berry, I find Nina being the one who has spoken to me. She and everyone else already seem to have finished their food, leaving me in the very uncomfortable stop of having made it quite clear that I do have something on my mind.

Making eye contact with her, she continues to talk. "I guess you haven't slept too well either?"

"No, it's not that." I respond, instantly regretting not taking the chance to dismiss the accusation I had expected to hear. "I just have a lot on my mind right now."

Breaking my eyes away from her, I take the opportunity to eat another chunk of the apple.

Apples aren't really my favorite kind of food. They do nourish me quite well, but when given the choice I'd much rather choose a nice and juicy chunk of meat over all the fruits in the world. Treek unsurprisingly doesn't agree with me about that at all. In his opinion there is nothing better that a nice, juice apple.

Looking up from the apple, I can see him joyfully gnawing on the last pieces of his own apple before I decide to start eating the Oran he had handed me.

While munching on it and tasting how its aroma merges with part of the apple's meat still in my mount, I continue to monitor Treek eating his apple. Him loving his apples is really an understatement, as I'm surprised that he was last to finish eating his before I catch him longingly peeking at his bag, knowing that he can't just eat another apple right away and has to restrain himself just like everyone else from simply following his animal instincts and claiming all of our supplies for himself.

He notices my glance and noticing my tender smile I wore while looking at him, he takes the opportunity to start a conversation.

"So Cyder." He begins. "I didn't really have an opportunity to tell you then, but last night, just before you had those seizures, I remembered something."

"Uhu." I respond, his statement actually making me interested. "What did you remember?"

"Erm." He begins stopping immediately as his expression changes to show regret while he glances over at Nina who doesn't appear to notice anything while being distracted with brushing her fur.

"You know?" He states, not wanting to appear suspicions. "I'm just gonna tell you later."

Sending me a forced smile while still glancing at Nina, I can be certain that he was about to utter something I might not want Nina to know about.

With that in mind, I simple give him a nod after making sure that Nina's is still busy with her fur. And with my mind being distracted by wondering about what Treek might have remembered, I don't find myself sub coming to my own mind and return to emotionlessly stare at my food.

Although breakfast was already over, the remainder of the time it took me to slowly eat my food passes without neither Treek nor me nor anyone else saying a word.

But as I finally swallow the last chunk of the apple, with the Oran already resting in my stomach, I know that the time has come for me to talk to Treek.

The Grass Type, still playing the role of being the one in charge is the first to address the group after I finished.

"I hope you're all well fed, because we might be going to skip dinner, seeing how we won't be burning any of the energy through walking today."

After taking a short pause during which he almost lost the attention of the kids he speaks up again, now addressing them explicitly.

"Cari. Tolan." He says before turning to face Nina as well. "And you as well, Nina. Although it might be tempting, I don't want any of you leaving this cave without the consent of either Cyder or me. We don't know anything about this region and you might accidentally run into a predator or... ~worse~."

He swallows before continuing and I know that this pause is only meant to emphasize his point without having to explicitly mention the crooks roaming the inland, thereby ruining the surprisingly uplifted mood.

"So just get comfortable and play with each other. And if you get bored, I can tell you what happened to me before that Salamence showed up to finally rescue your dad."

Neither Tolan or Cari nor Nina seem too happy with the curfew Treek had just enacted as Nina is the first to speak up.

"No fair." She says. "I'm old enough to fend for myself. Don't at least I get to go outside?"

"No." Treek answers, putting his foot down. "And before you continue being annoyed, I have good reasons why you should remain here as well."

"If you get lost and can't find your way back, we can't risk having to find you."

Only having sat next to Treek doing all the talking, I see the opportunity to add my own statement as I stand up and turn towards the group.

"There's another reason Nina." I begin, immediately grabbing her attention. "I mentioned it before and I'll mention it again, but I need to have a quite serious talk with Treek. So I need you to look over the kids while we're gone."

Now looking at Tolan and Cari, I continue to elaborate. "Same goes for you as well. I want you to make sure that Nina does a good job in watching you. Can you do that?"

"Sure." Cari exclaims while Tolan nods.

Looking back at Nina, I can see her rolling her eyes as a sign of finally giving in.

"Fiiiine." She sighs before I turn towards Treek who must have had forgotten that I wanted to have a private talk with him.

"Are you all ready to go?" I ask him.

While wrinkling his forehead, he tilts his head slightly and answers with another question. "Where were you planning to go for talk?"

"I thought we might head out into the forest." I respond quite calmly, not seeing where the problem with my plan could be.

"What?" He immediately begins bickering. "Are you forgetting why we have to stay put here for a whole day? It's because I don't want to risk being out in the open if you get another seizure."

I roll my own eyes as Treek continues. "No no no no. You and me are staying right in this cave. I'm not going to let you get farther away from this chamber than shouting distance."

Deciding to be the bigger 'mon and give in, I simply sigh as a response that Treek never-the-less has no problems understanding.

"Well then." He states before continuing while pointing towards the back end of the cavern.

"After you." He tells me while I notice for the first time that the cavern does actually seem to connect to the larger network of tunnels and caverns filling the entire mountain from top to bottom.

I sigh one more time before passing by him, taking care to do so purposefully loud, a gesture Treek decides to ignore before I take another glace back at the group. All eyes are directed at me and no one except for Treek and me is moving a muscle.

"Walk on all fours, Cyder." Treek bickers again. "You have to go easy on your body."

"Could you just shut it?" I yell at him angrily, immediately silencing his voice. "Just wait until you've heard what I need to tell you."

I turn back to face the tunnel while continuing to walk on my hind legs, even having the audacity to light summon a flame in my right paw as I reach the rim of what the sun coming from the outside manages to light up.

Turning around one last time to address my kids, I yell to them that if anything happens they should simply call out to us.

'That's at least one bonus point I get from having Treek making me retreat into the cave system.' I think to myself, as I notice the sorrow written into the face of my best friend.

A sorrow that immediately infects me as I start to feel sorry for shouting at him a moment ago.

"Sorry." I say to him while carefully navigating the narrow path leading deeper into the mountain.

"It's just..." I try to continue before interrupting myself. "You'll understand in a moment."

Ending my sentence by stopping in my tracks, I turn around to begin the talk.

We're not too far from the entrance room that Nina and the kids are in, but the upcoming section of tunnel seems very unstable to me, leaving me to not wanting to dare going any further.

"Here will be fine." I say, holding up my flame and looking around the section of tunnel before quickly adding to my statement. "We can't be talking too loudly, though."

I turn around to see Treek nodding to me in agreement before sitting down on the rocky ground only to immediately jump up as he must have sat down on a particularly sharp rock.

"Autsch." He whispers before sitting back down in another place, only this time not after having made sure that he wouldn't be sitting on a sharp rock.

I follow his example and shortly after we find each other each leaning against the tunnel walls while Treek looks at me, waiting for me to say the first word.

The flame in my paw continues to crackle away happily, while Treek I fail to realize that Treek was waiting for me, causing him to start talking and managing to redirect my focus away from the fire and towards him.

"Well...?" He asks, finally making me realize that he was waiting for me to start talking.

"Oh yeah." I respond, almost having sub come to another one of the deep though moments I've been having ever since last night.

I want to start talking. I want to start telling him everything I know, so that he might point something out that I hadn't noticed. But something is still holding me back and I feel like getting him here to have this talk was a bad idea. And deciding to listen to my intuition, I quickly come up with something else I could say.

"Listen." I begin, knowing that I've already had his full attention. "Last night had nothing to do with my physical state. And I know it's lame that I can't say more than this, but you should know that it was a Holder thing."

Treek wrinkles his forehead and sends me a look as if he isn't believing what I'm saying. "Are you sure that you're not just making this up to get going again?"

I want to interrupt, tell him that I am quite certain, but the Treecko continues without giving me that chance. "Because I'm no doing this because I want to annoy you. I'm doing this because I don't want you or anyone else get hurt."

Finally having finished his sentence, I get the chance to speak again. "I'm absolutely positive."

"Dude." Treek suddenly injects as I find my eyes having wandered to look down the path and into darkness of the cave system. "What happened last night?"

I quickly look back at him, but he knows just as well as I do that the look I'm giving him means that I can't say.

"Sorry." I begin. "I thought I could tell you, which is why I wanted us to me alone, but the truth is: I don't even know what telling you would do."

The Grass Type, as dissatisfied as he is, still understands that I'm quite serious and decides not to make the situation more awkward by asking more questions.

And after a few moments of awkward silence pass, I feel my eyes drifting back to the abyss next to me, only to have them ripped back to the Treecko as my conscious mind comes up with an idea of changing the subject.

"So what was it you remembered last night?" I ask, having the feeling that I might already know the answer.

"Well." He begins. "You remember how we lucky we got when we found that new hat. I remember whose idea it was to check upstairs. And while I don't think it's important, it actually was you. Back then you said that you saw some kind of shadow looking at you from on top of that balcony..."

I stop listening to what he is saying, as I can see some of the dots connecting. Because it is that exact detail that I too remembered last night.

Interrupting Treek mid-sentence, I take no precautions to speak without being heard in the entrance cavern. "Did you by any chance remember it just before I woke up for the first time?"

"Um..." He stops talking, being surprised by my sudden interruption and the look I must be wearing on my face.

But he doesn't get the chance to respond as the next sound that can be heard is a loud rumbling coming from the entrance cavern.

I immediately jump up and peak our ears, not even noticing Treek doing the same. But I didn't even have to, as a desperate shout for help is loudly echoing throughout the tunnel, resonating from all the walls and only slowing vanishing. Yet the cry for help, as powerful as it is, is drowned out by another loud thumping noise. 


	48. Kidnapped

Neither Treek nor I waste any time and immediately follow up on the cry for help, heading up the tunnel and back the way we came from while not being able to hear any new sounds with the ringing of the thumping noise only slowly fading from our ears.

In no time flat we reach the entrance cavern. Treek is the first to enter, freezing solid right as he enters the room and blocking my view of what is happening.

Not feeling like kindly asking him to step aside I squeeze by him, thereby snapping him back to reality and causing him to flinch aside as I only now notice that my ember is already burning brightly and the flames are leaking out of my head.

But the flames immediately vanish when my eyes finally fall on the scenery inside the cavern.

Neither Tolan nor Cari can be seen anywhere and only now do I realize that it was Cari who had cried out for help.

'Nina.' I think to myself, only to repeat the thought out loudly a moment later.

"NINA!" I shout, failing to keep back my tears before I fall to the rocky ground.

Treek, already being used to getting scorched from time to time is already back on his legs and I can see him walk by me. And as I rise from the ground, all my sadness turns into anger.

"NINA!" I shout again, keeping my eyes closed and putting all of my energy into shouting as loud as possible. "You damn dirty liar! I trusted YOU!"

I open my eyes, to see Treek holding his ears shut while standing next to something I hadn't noticed before.

While slowly releasing letting go of his ears, looking at me while wondering whether or not I'm done shouting, all of my anger vanishes at once as I realize what it is that he is standing next to.

Contrary to my previous deduction, he is standing next to the body of Nina as I realize my mistake and regret fills me.

'If she's still here, she couldn't have been behind this.' I think to myself while attentively looking around the cavern, still hoping to find the kids. But to no avail.

With my own shouting ringing in my ears, may it be from the very real echoes that might still be traveling through the mountain or from the sheer volume I shouted at, I walk up to Treek with tears flowing back into my eyes.

"Nina." I whisper, staring at the still body of the Zorua.

But while I can detect no reaction to my whispering, something I should have assumed considering she didn't respond to my shouting before, Treek bends over her and starts feeling her pulse.

"She's still alive." He says, allowing a wave of relieve to overcome me as my racing heart begins to slow down its pace, allowing my thoughts to be redirecting at the case of my missing kids.

"How bad is she?" I ask Treek with a voice roaring uncontrollably from the anxiety and fear. But to be honest, I'm not actually caring about Nina and simply need to know when she'll be able to tell us what happened and where the kids are.

"It's not as bad as it looks." He states, not looking away from the foxes' body before elaborating. "She should be up again in a couple of minutes."

Relieved to hear some good news, I look away and start inspecting the cavern.

"But only time will tell." Treek unexpectedly adds after finally letting go of Nina and turning towards me looking around for any addition clues.

While looking around, I manage so spot my hat lying off in a corner of the room I definitely didn't leave it at. But while I walk over and pick up my belonging, Treek doesn't appear to be as lucky as he unsuccessfully scans the cavern for his bag filled with all of our supplies.

"What happened?" I ask while picking up the hat, still shaking uncontrollably and searching for anything that might relieve some of my unease.

And while I knew that the Treecko would have an answer to the question even before stating it, I still find a little bit of comfort in his voice responding.

"I have no idea." He says, obviously not having as much troubles keeping a grip on his voice as I am.

But my comfort is short lived when I'm overcome with another wave of emotions, overthrowing my logical mind and taking control over my body.

"What do you mean!?" I shout while spinning around and almost dropping my hat in the process.

"Don't you even care?" I continue to assign the blame to the astonished and innocent Grass Type. "Have you even looked around? - Because I have and in case you didn't notice: the kids are missing!"

"I..." Treek tries to start talking, but immediately gets interrupted as my enraged ember continues to shout at him.

"No! You didn't." I continue to let my fears be heard while medium sized tongues of flames underline my words by licking around my muzzle.

I take a short verbal pause, but Treek doesn't dare to respond while I take another look around the cavern.

"This only happened because you..." I try to begin. "Because..."

But my words fail me. Various reasons pass my mind, but the wave of fury has already reached its climax and the anger that is still holding me together loses its strength to keep me that way. I want to tell him how this only happened because he had to drag me away from the kids, but he only did so because he was concerned about my wellbeing.

And while my body joins the wall of hatred and collapses as I find myself falling to the ground, he starts talking in a voice so considered and weak that I didn't even notice him speaking at first.

"Hey..." Is the first word I recognize. "Wherever they are, we'll get them back."

I continue to whimper in the pile of misery, fearing the worst might have happened to them. - Lying between the dirt and rocks covering the ground and not even noticing a particular sharp stone pressing against the tender skin covering my still fresh wound.

But even though some time must have passed and I was starting to feel the calmness that would allow my mind to work without being interrupted return, someone else makes herself present.

"Ugh..." I can hear Nina yap, only now and slowly awaking from her forcibly induced sleep.

I peek my ears and listen for her, but before I can make a rational decision, another wave of anger overcomes me and my ember now plans to assign the blame to the young and innocent fox.

Controlled by my emotions, I jump up and immediately focus my sight on her form as she slowly blinks and tries to get accustomed to her surroundings.

"What did YOU do to them!?" I shout at her, knowing that she probably doesn't even know what I'm talking about, considering she has just awoken from unconsciousness.

I stamp past Treek who doesn't dare to intervene, while a fireball begins to grow in my core.

The fox has already noticed me and immediately understands the situation she has found herself in. But expectedly she doesn't react by simply answering my question. One reason being that she didn't have anything to do with the disappearance of the kids and the other being that she must realize that saying something wrong now would end badly for her.

"Where ARE THEY!?" I continue to shout at her while I cover more and more of the ground between us.

I know that my actions won't get me anywhere, not even if she did know something she wasn't willing to say anyways. But like always, my ember turns me the blind eye as its unquestionable control over our body persists.

The fox is on her legs at this point and fearfully retreats towards the nearest cave wall behind her.

Only there she actually starts responding to my questions.

"Please..." She begins, but my ember isn't listening and continues to march onwards, heading straight for the poor and frightened little fox.

"Please!" Another voice makes itself heard as a familiar Grass Type jumps between me and her, keeping a straight pose and looking willing enough to do anything in order to stop me if it comes to it.

"This won't get us anywhere." Treek continues to talk sense into me while my ember remains unimpressed and my body continues on its course, looking straight through the Treecko as if he was nothing but a pillow of smoke.

"She obviously doesn't know..." He tries to talk to me again, but his words are interrupted as my emotions suddenly swap their intentions again and all the wrath I felt myself holding only moments ago is transformed into sadness.

With the sudden disappearance of my ember's guiding force, my body collapses and less than a meter away from my friend I fall to the ground again.

Whimpering now, I continue to talk while trying to keep the tears from flowing out of my eyes by keeping them shut as tightly as possible.

"*Sob* Nina..." I try to begin before realizing that I have yet to decide on the words I would speak to the Zorua.

"What happened?" I finally manage to ask, not even knowing if she is able to hear my words while all I can hear is the sound of my own sobbing.

I wish that she would tell me that it was just an elaborate joke. I wish that every moment now either Tolan or Cari would peek their heads inside the cavern, only to apologize to me for pulling such an evil prank. But the cry for help was all too real. And I knew that there are no Cyndaquils waiting for me just outside the cave. I know that someone or something, sentient or not, must have attacked Nina and taken the kids. Yet it is a truth that I can't find myself to believe before anything but my fear induced, nightmarish imagination would repeat it for me.

But while the cavern echoes another of my sobs less and less frequently, at least some of my words must have managed to reach the fox when she begins responding with an unsure voice.

"There was..." She begins. "I mean..." she tries anew, only to stop mid-sentence again. But eventually manages to find the proper words she must have been looking for.

"The kids were kidnapped." She finally states, confirming my worst nightmare and making it feel like someone had penetrated my heart with a blunt claw.

"Suddenly there was this Dragonite..." She continues while I barely manage to understand her words as a loud sob escapes my lungs.

"Please..." She begs me. "Don't be mad. - I tried to fight him, but I guess that didn't work out too well."

Another voice makes itself heard as Treek continues to talk to Nina.

And while I get a strange feeling of nostalgia that I don't even want to dare to investigate, knowing that it would only lead to more memories of things I'd rather forget that ever happened, he asks the important questions on my behalf.

"Do you know where he went?" I can hear him ask, the question alone managing to push aside some of my fears and reminding me that hope will always remain. That hope will never die until there is nobody left to hope for something. - And we are still here. We can still share that hope in our indisputable goal of getting back what was taken. – Getting back the kids.

"No..." The fox answers with a saddened tone, an answer I really didn't want her to respond with. "I have no idea. The last thing I remember is trying to tackle him away from the kids, but then everything went black and the next thing I remember is you buddy there..."

A short pause ensues and I assume Nina is pointing at me. But after it passes she continues. "... Well. you know the rest."

I try to whisper my apologies, but no words manage to leave my mouth and I remain lying still where I am, not being able to respond while not even another sob leaves my lungs.

"What do you think they wanted?" She asks after a few moments have passed and just before I would have found myself able to open my eyes again.

"We can't exclude any possibilities right now." Treek answer her.

"They might have been abducted because that dragon knows who we are." He begins listing the possibilities of what might have happened. "Or he abducted them for... well. Not. Good. Things."

Even though Treek didn't want to say anything more detailed, I know exactly what he is talking about.

'There are tons of criminals around these ungoverned parts of the land.' I find myself thinking, painting the possibilities. 'They might be sold into slavery or be abused by someone sick enough to...'

I shake away the disgusting though, thereby finally managing to open my eyes. And using the thought of me being required to help the remainder of the team getting anything done, I stand up straight while trying not to look directly into Nina's face as both she and Treek watch me rise.

"Are you going to be OK?" She asks after I find myself on two legs.

I turn towards her and finally see her eyes. Although her voice hadn't transmitted any fear and all I could hear is genuine concern, the fright from some of the possibilities of what I might be doing next is written all over her face.

"I..." I try to begin, only now noticing that my voice remains untamed. And after fixing the problem by coughing and harrumphing a bit, I continue talking.

"Yeah." I say to her, trying to sound sincere. "I'm sorry. I should have known you couldn't have had anything to do with it."

Actually surprised at the sheer length of the sentence I was just able to produce, I finally understand why she still cowers against the cavern's wall, not daring to take a step towards me.

'This is exactly the kind of thing I promised to keep her safe from.' I formulate the thought, not actually speaking the words. 'When she was in the military, she always got beat up for failing a mission. And with me kind-of being her new boss and having giving her the mission of protecting the kids, she thinks it's her fault and that she's going to have to bear the consequences.'

"Hey, listen." I try to calm her down, while my genuine facial expression of appearing sincere is getting distorted by the emotions still coursing through my blood.

And while the only thing I can do is hope that they wouldn't be unleashed against her or Treek, she finally starts to accept the fact that I wouldn't be unleashing my fury against her.

With the calmness returning to her face, I straighten myself and begin speaking with a voice as serious as I manage to make it sound considering the mental state I find myself in.

"You said the kidnapper was a Dragonite?" I ask her, followed by her nodding in agreement.

"That not good..." I speak up, getting ahold of my voice a bit more with every word that leaves my mouth. "There are feral Dragonite living around here, so whoever it was, he may have been looking for something to serve his younglings for dinner..."

I shudder at the thought, but remind myself that I'm just painting the worst possible scenario.

And while trying to help convince my frightened ember by reminding it of how rarely something like that actually happens, much less without first provoking the dragon, I continue speaking with Nina.

"Did he have any supplies on him?" I ask, hoping that the answer would be yes and thereby dismissing the idea of my kids being anyone's meal.

"I..." Nina starts babbling. "It all went so fast. - I'm sorry, but I don't remember anything other than it being a Dragonite. But I think. - And don't quote me on this. - I think he had a bag around his shoulders."

I sigh and close my eyes for a moment, trying to get a hold of the situation and allow my logical mind to analyze the situation, hoping that I might find the right questions to ask in order to form the perfect plan, or a plan as perfect as can be, to save the kids from whoever's claws they might be held by.

"I don't think that was a feral..." Treek suddenly starts talking from behind me, actually managing to surprise me with the sudden presence of his voice and causing me to spin around to see what lead him to state such a guess.


	49. Ransom

I spin around and immediately see the Treecko holding something in his paws. And while it's not his bag, it's something I would have expected to see even less.

He's holding a piece of paper with some scribbles covering both of its sides. But even if I was standing right next to him, I wouldn't be able to read what it says, as the paw that must have written the text didn't care at all about making it readable.

"I think it's a ransom note." Treek continues to elaborate while I waste no time and walk over to him, intently looking at the piece of paper.

"Where did you find it?" I ask him.

"It was just lying there." He responds while pointing next to the cavern's entrance. "But like I said: I'm pretty sure it's a ransom note."

"You can read that?" I ask puzzled while not being able to follow his trail of thought.

"Not really." He answers before elaborating. "But see his?"

He holds up the note for me to read, which I immediately begin.

-

Yℯⵉ, ₩Е Ᏺαwᶟ ŧӉᶟᛖ.

AΝᗞ ɩẝ ⳍ੦ᑘ Ꮃ⍺ņⲦ ʨѳ ƽᏋə ΤᎨ℮Μ ӕᶢɑⅲⲚ, ⲨｏǓ'ӎӘ ƂᴔʦᎿⴹғ ƍᴏɪƞǦ Τﮬ ᑯↄ ԜℍａƮ ₩Ě ᏔАɳⲦ ｙ߀⋃ Țↄ ǳｏ. WᵸⅲⲥᎻ ɪƽ ᏴᴦɪℕǤ ᵫ∫ Ԝн⍺⍡ Ꮃｅ ʍℇᶐᵿɆﬆʧ ϑſ ᶌ໐ᑘ.

Wⴺ ĐӘМȦпᗞ 2000000 ᵽǑⲔé ᖴ๐ғ ţͰⴹɨᏒ ґҙⅬⅇ∀ｓ℮ ａƞʤ ⓛﬄ Ԝｅ Ðංͷ'т ɡ∃Ꮏ ԜℍȦŧ ₩ə Ԝæᴨ⍡ у%ᑧ ᏔͻƝ'₮ Бᶟ ᵴℯᎬӏǊｇ Ҭһℯℳ Ꮛｖᶟⲅ ẚƍӔĳǌ.

Yംʋ ｈæᏙĚ ⲟＮᴔ ԜҽҙΚ ʨﮧ ｃᴑᎷ⍴ℒұ ᎳⅰᎢħ ჿɄƦ đᎬӍẚ№ᗞ∬ ȧпƉ ⍸ք ԜᏋ Ⱨӕ۷ռ'ț ǧǑʦ₮Ｅᵰ ᎢᎰҽ М೦ո℮ɣ ҍΥ ⟙ӉәƝ, ϒѲυ Ԝօռ'ŧ ᴔ٧ᴈǊ ҢæЛӘ ⟙ơ ƄﮬȚҢɇɱ.

-

"Oh my Arceus!" I respond after reading all of it. "Who writes like this?"

After failing to suppress a minor chuckle, I remind myself of the dire situation we are in before I continue talking.

"But I see what you mean. - You're talking about that number right in the middle."

Treek gives me a nod and shows the paper to Nina who continues to stare at it with wide eyes, not grasping how such bad writing could be considered suitable for any occasion.

"That number in the middle of the text looks like it's been written by someone else." I speak my thoughts out loudly. "And considering our situation, I thing we can be certain that it's some amount of money they are requesting from us."

Although I feel a bit relieved while speaking, fright immediately returns when I continue to think about the implications.

'There's probably some sort of time restriction in there.' I continue wondering my thoughts. 'But where should we get two million poké?'

And while staring at the back of the piece of paper while Treek is showing its front side to Nina, hoping that she might make out what it means, the scribbles on the back I previously though were without any meaning appear to start making sense.

"Hang on." I speak up, grabbing the attention of both the grass type and the fox before taking the piece of paper in my own paws. "Look at this." I continue speaking while pointing at the scribbles. "This doesn't look like text..."

Wandering about the scribbles on its back, I start to make out various shapes before finally realizing what it is I'm looking at.

"I think this is a map." I finally complete my sentence while carefully analyzing what it depicts.

"See." I excitedly continue while Treek looks over the map and Nina rubs one of her many bruises probably resulting from her being knocked out. "I think this is mount Vesopar, where we are right now."

Next to what I think is the mountain, I notice a crude excuse for a line leading away from it. But even with the sad excuse for a drawing, it still manages to get my mind rattling.

"I think this shows where we're supposed to bring the ransom money." I say, the excitement of my conclusion completely blurring out the rage I felt only moments ago. But then again I might just be suppressing it for the time being, as I really don't want to be in the body of that dragon once I get to him.

'When I'm done with him, he'll never be writing another ransom note.' I angrily think to myself, fully concentrating on not ripping the note apart as my rage appears to be rushing back after I just thought about it.

I hand the note back to Treek and try not to make eye contact as I know that the anger must be written all over my face. And failing to keep it from being openly displayed, Treek quickly takes it before I might lose control.

"We'll have to get there." I say with a shaking voice while holding my eyes shut and trying to suppress my ember until its time would come.

'Please, Ember.' I beg to myself. 'You'll get your chance for enacting your rightful fury, but try to keep it from spilling until that time has come.'

I've never been able to control my ember for too long in the past. Much less after its grown as much as it already has from all that has happened thus far.

"I'm sorry, Cyder." Treek suddenly speaks up, causing me to rip open my eyelids and stare him down.

The morning sunlight is flooding into the cave and almost blinding me. A cloud must have just moved out of the sun's path as I don't remember it being this bright before.

I really like the sun. It always fills me with strength during the darkest of times. Dark times like the one I'm living through right now. But while the sun is shining its rays upon me, distracting my mind with its beauty, it is my ember that decides to dismiss me pleading it to wait before taking over control again.

"What do you mean?" I suddenly shout out at as the astonished Treecko takes a step back in surprise. "Are you saying you're not going to help me get there?"

"No..." Treek answers while fearfully looking where he is retracting towards, carefully trying not to fall over a rock and ending up with another wound.

Nina has fallen completely out of the picture, probably out of fear of getting harmed by what could very well be happening next. And while I finally realize that my ember has taken over control, I'm given no other choice but to beg it to calm down and reserve its strength for the real fight.

"Then what did you just mean by that?" I continue to shout as the Treecko backing away from me is starting to run out of room to retreat into.

With only half a meter of room to spare before by friend would have to phase through the cave wall, he finally decides to continue talking with a concerned voice.

"I'm just concerned about you..." He tries to explain himself before I carelessly interrupt him.

"Am I the one being held captive, away from those that are supposed to care for me?" I ask, growing more and more aggressive with each word that leaves my mouth. "Is it I, who might be forced to do unspeakable things this very second."

At no point do I stop walking closer towards the poor Grass type and what remained of the distance between him and the wall a few moments ago is now completely gone.

While pressing himself against the wall, he starts a last chance at defending himself with words.

"What if you get another seizure while you're trying to rescue them?" He asks, actually managing to stop me from coming closer for a few moments.

With his idiocy actually managing to stun me, he continues to explain. "Please don't take this wrong way, but you could jeopardize everything if we're not careful."

My speechlessness only lasts for a few moments as I suddenly leap forward and grab the Grass Type by his shoulders.

"How stupid must you be?" I shout directly into his face.

Treek keeps his eyes shut and his face distorted from fear while he doesn't know what to do next.

"Those weren't seizures!" I continue to yell at him, not getting any response other than him struggling a bit as he tries to free himself from my grasp. He is frightened. Frightened from me as every word that leaves my mouth bright lights up the cavern with the fires on my back flaring to humungous sizes. My body has fully regenerated and the rich breakfast and steady diet of Sitrus and Orans has definitely added to my strength.

But me bidding my ember to stop finally appears to pay off, as I turn away from the frightened Treecko only to notice the map which he must have dropped at some point while retreating away from me.

After having dropped it during all the commotion, now it's just lying between the dirt and gravel which most definitely isn't improving its readability.

I don't have to think for a moment to know what my ember is planning on doing. Not just because I know and feel everything it does because it's just my emotional side, but also because it's quite obvious what would be happening next.

"Stop it!" A crying voice drowns out all the growling I only now notice I've been doing for a while. It is Nina who is standing less than a meter away to my right, while the map that Treek had dropped is lying between me and her.

"Please..." She continues to whisper, now that she has my attention. "We're just trying to help you get them back. But why won't you just listen to Treek?"

She sobs for a moment while I finally let go of Treek. The action of it actually surprising me, as I know that I'm still not in charge over my body. But the surprise only lasts for a moment when my eyes fall back onto the map.

Nina doesn't notice and has her eyes tightly shut, trying to keep tears from flowing out while I assume that Treek in his frightened state is not going to yell at me like Nina just did.

"What if you get killed?" She continues to sob while my ember carelessly ignores her concerns.

I take a few steps towards her with my eyes fixated on the map lying in the mud. And after slowly picking it up, I turn around to head for the entrance.

The flames on my back are still blazing brightly and Treek tries to back into the wall while I pass dangerously close by him.

But I'm not intending to harm him as I simply walk by. But after reaching the entrance and being greeted by the full force of the sun I turn around one more time to look at the two of them.

Nina has stopped her crying and is anxiously looking at Treek still not daring to make a move while keeping his eyes focused on me and my fire.

Neither me nor either of them dares to say a word from a few seconds while the flames slowly die down and my body takes the chance to start absorbing the healthy sunlight shining upon me.

"Don't try to stop me again." I simply state before adjusting my hat, which surprisingly hadn't fallen off during my emotional outburst, and turning towards the humungous forest bordering the mountain that the scrawly line on the back of the ransom note is telling me to head into.


	50. Lost

For once I completely agree with my emotions. And while I don't agree on the path they chose to get me where I am right now, I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else either.

I don't know if the sun is still shining above the thick layer of canopy covering the forest as brightly as it did when I ran away. Barely any light is reaching the forest floor, but I don't really care while I take barely any care not to get stuck on a branch or break a leg while jumping over one of the many hurdles that the rough forest floor has to offer.

My ember has finally given over control after it realized that we were sharing the same common goal once again. And while our end goal has always been the same, I still took a moment to tell myself that my behavior towards my friends was not adequate.

'Why did you have to threaten them like that?' I ask myself. 'They were just trying to help us. They didn't know any better and just did what they thought was the right thing.'

But as was to be expected I don't get any response from myself now that my flame has returned to its normal state, still remaining ready to spring back into full strength at a moment's notice.

'I sorry, Treek...' I end my trail of though before stopping to take another look at the map.

The path detailed is quite longer than what I initially expected it to be. And hoping that I had been going the right direction thus far, not accidentally haven taken a wrong turn at some point, thus leading me to end up somewhere completely different and possibly getting myself lost, I begin studying the map once again.

I was definitely correct with my initial assessment of it truly being a map. While traveling the path marked, I came by a river denoted on the map as well. And even though I didn't know that it was a river before I reached it, I luckily didn't have to cross it as the twisted path appeared only to pass by it without actually forcing me to get to the other side.

'These drawings are truly horrendous.' I think to myself while attempting to figure out where I should be right now.

'Let's see...' I begin thinking while drawing my paw across the dirty piece of paper. 'I came across the river, which was here.' I continue to think while poking at what I learned to be a river.

'Then I went south, like so...' I remember my previous path while drawing a paw across the paper. 'But there should be something here...' I end my thought while stopping my paw on top of a big lump of garbled mess. I know it doesn't represent the goal of my journey, which I previously identified to be a cross marking at the very top of the map.

'Did I take a wrong turn somewhere?' I wonder to myself, as I expected to be confronted with another mountain.

Since the starting point of my journey was a mountain as well, which had been denoted as another big lump of circles, I fully expected to see another one. But instead I find myself surrounded by nothing but trees. They aren't as far apart as the trees I saw in other parts of these woods. And with quite a considerable amount of empty space keeping them apart, I can see quite far into the distance and can confirm that nothing one might consider to be a mountain is anywhere near me.

I rotate the map, trying to see if it might make more sense if I held it at another angle, while my frustration grows. Thus far I assumed that the top was pointing north, like all maps should and most maps are. And using that as a guideline alongside the sun as my compass, I've come pretty far and could even confirm some of the minor terrain features scribbled onto the paper.

But no answer comes to my mind and I take another look at the text, hoping that the answer to my problems could be located somewhere deep within one of the paragraphs of garbled mess.

I take a few moments to stare at it, only to be distracted by the leaves above my head rustling for a moment, probably resulting from a gust of wind passing overhead.

But between alternatingly looking at the terrain and the map, I get interrupted by a voice shouting my name.

"Cyder!" Treek yells from behind me, as I spin around. And sure enough, I can see a Treecko followed by a Zorua running over the rough forest floor I had traversed only minutes ago.

I expected them to follow me, and was actually hoping that they would catch up. I didn't take care to cover my tracks, which would have been practically impossible with Treek being the one to pursue me. But still sharing the opinion of my ember in returning to the cavern or not participating in the battle against the Dragonite, I respond immediately.

"Don't try to stop me." I shout while they are still running towards me, not actually causing any change in their pace or influencing their expressions. They are simply happy to see me again and I feel a little bit relieved since it doesn't appear like they hold my previous actions against me or are planning on stopping me again.

"We're here to help you." Nina begins, only to be hastily interrupted by Treek adding onto the statement.

"But we're going to fight ~with~ you." He says while dashing to close the gap between us.

'He doesn't want to risk me misunderstanding the statement.' I think to myself, knowing that I correctly predicted how he would respond.

"Thank you. And sorry for before." I say, lowering my voice more and more as he comes closer.

"Should we be talking this loudly?" Nina whispers to me and Treek after both of them reach me still holding the map.

"Technically no." I respond before continuing with smug expression. "But if anyone wants to stand in my way, he's going to regret it no matter who he is."

She swallows silently before I turn towards Treek awaiting my attention.

"Sorry for before." I begin speaking. And after quickly turning to Nina and telling her that the following excuse would also be directed at her, I continue. "I hope you understand that it wasn't me you were dealing with."

Treek gives me a nod before taking the chance to speak up. "I understand. But what I don't understand is what happened to you. I understand you telling me it's a holder thing, but are you sure that you're not just making this up so we'll let you rescue the kids with us?"

"Erm..." I begin, not actually having planned for such a question. And after a moment, during which Nina's eyes started poking me as well I begin to formulate my response.

"First of all: you are helping me rescue them. And second: it is a holder-thing." I simply respond after a moment while quickly glancing at Nina staring at me. "But believe me: I'm completely fine if you don't consider the gaping emotional wound of having my kids abducted."

Nina takes a small step backwards, probably out of fear of me losing my temper again. But I know that she wouldn't believe me if I told her that I was going to be OK. And with that in mind, I decide to take advantage of her fear and have her exactly follow my orders before handing the map to Treek.

"I assume you followed the trail I left for you to track." I begin talking while Treek takes ahold of the dirt covered map and immediately start cleaning it. And while he blows on it, trying to remove some of the dirt, something I couldn't have done without accidentally setting the entire thing on fire, I continue explaining what has happened so far.

"I started here." I say, while pointing at the map. And while drawing over the same path I just reminded myself of taking a moment ago, I continue speaking. "And then I went like this. But now I'm not sure where I am."

Treek gives me a nod and I take another look at Nina. While I was distracted with showing the path I had taken to Treek, she has returned to stand by my side, something I'm quite comfortable with as having her be afraid of me would do nothing but hurt the team.

And looking at her while Treek is distracted with the map, I decide to apologize to her one more time.

"Listen, Nina." I begin, intently looking into her eyes. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that, but you have to understand that that's not me."

After taking a short pause during which she doesn't respond and everything that can be heard is another gust of wind blowing through the canopy above, I continue. "You see: us fire types take all of our strength from our emotions. But as a consequence our emotions can get very strong, somethings even managing to overpower our conscious and real minds. It's called blazing and is something that usually only happens when we are in extreme pain. And while it doesn't happen to all fire types and most 'mons think that it's something that can only happen when we're physically hurt, I can tell you from experience that it can happen to me and can just as easily occur when the wounds are emotional. Even more though: if it does happen because of emotional pain, it can be even stronger as the ember finds itself in control over a completely functional body."

I take another pause and Nina responds by giving me a nod before I continue. "I'm really, truly sorry. And I know that words won't undo the way you had to see me. Nor can I promise that it will never happen again. But you should know that I don't think that my ember would dare to hurt you because of the promise I gave you when we first met."

Nina finally appears satisfied and gives me another nod before Treek grabs my attention.

"OK." He begins. "We're clearly where that dirt stain was at."

Pointing to where I previously saw the lump of messy lines, I can see what remains of a dirty stain, while feeling a bit stupid about not considering that I was just looking at a stain.

"So I don't understand what your problem was..." He finally finishes his sentence before I speak up again.

"Um... Never mind." I simply answer, suppressing a mild blush. "What matters is that you guys are willing to help me see through this together."

I smile at both of them individually, receiving another content look from each of them, before keeping my eyes fixated on Treek.

"You've got the map. So lead the way." I simply state, knowing that Treek will be a much better navigator than I would be before the Grass Type wastes no more time and starts hurrying towards where I hope my kids are going to be.


	51. Storm

"Too bad we don't have two million poké." Nina states after walking up to my side.

Unlike one might expect, we aren't running. Mainly because we're going to need the strength we would otherwise waste for the fight against the dragon, who, judging by the two distinguishable paw writings covering the front of the note, we can probably assume isn't going to be alone. And the other reason being that Treek doesn't have a much easier time reading the map that I had.

"Don't believe I'm looking forward to a fight." I simply state as a response while watching Treek almost stumble over a branch.

Feeling like my statement might show weakness or give the idea that I'm unwilling to fight, I quickly add onto it. "But whoever that dragon is, I'm not going to treat him any different even if he isn't a feral. - Which is still questionable when judging by his damn cruddy paw writing."

Nina giggles for a moment before she reminds herself that I'm quite serious and instantly falls quiet.

Some more time passes before she starts talking to me again. While in the meantime the sky had been getting darker and darker, something Treek noticed as well. It's not because the canopy got thicker, which's density stayed the same, but because a storm had been brewing since morning. Even though I remember already having seen it when we were still back at the cave, it is something that could really put a dent in my plan as the sudden appearance of rain might leave me with no other choice other than taking cover and not being able to participate in the rescue.

But while the thought of rescuing my kids continues to fill me with strength, I can't help but notice the change in the climate. The air has gotten much thicker, something I'm actually quite content with if it wasn't for the additional humidity cutting into the flesh of my throat with every breath I'm taking. Yet I remain strong and don't show my weakness to anyone while Nina and I continue tracking after Treek.

"This might be a stupid question..." Nina begins speaking out of nowhere after a while as the sky is already shrouded in mist. We just managed to reach another river that was marked on the map as well. - At least we're hoping that it's the river from the map because it appears to be dried up in reality.

But since the course charted by the ransom note apparently wants us to traverse the dried up river bed, I'm more than happy that there is no water I'd have to overcome or find a way around of.

"Go ahead, Nina." I respond after noticing that she appears to have been waiting for my approval before stating the apparently stupid question.

I take a look at her and she finally begins speaking. "Couldn't you just use your Holder powers to find out where the kids are held. Because I guess we shouldn't be expecting to find them or Treek's bag at the spot marked on the map."

The mentioning of his name apparently grabbing his attention, Treek turns to check up on what we are doing. He probably wasn't paying much attention to what we were saying before and after I notice his look, I decide to ignore it before answering Nina's question.

"Believe me, Nina." I begin. "I would if I could. - But I can't."

After receiving a confused look from her wondering about what it is that is hindering me, I decide that it wouldn't hurt anyone to explain to fill her in on what her former bosses failed to mention about me.

"See. It's true that the library would give me the ability to find out most if not everything I need to know for the perfect rescue." I begin before taking a short pause to collect my thoughts and making sure I wasn't going to say anything about the library being in danger in front of her.

"But one problem is that I can't just summon an entrance anywhere, anytime. - No: there are many, many restrictions on how it actually works." Treek has already stopped paying attention to us and begins focusing on reading the map again. Mainly because he already knows what I'm about to tell Nina, and secondly because it's not really a secret, or ever was.

"For starters: I can only summon an entrance where there already is some sort of door-shaped formation. May it be a real door or something different, like an entrance to a cavern or inside a hallway. It doesn't work out in the open and there are restrictions to the maximum size of said door as well."

Nina fascinatedly gives me a nod as I continue to explain. "But probably the most important restriction is that I can't do anything if I don't have a clear mind. It's probably meant as a precaution to prevent a Holder from summoning an entrance after being pressured into it, but it's a pretty sensitive threshold that I can't cross if I want to do anything."

I take a short pause to think about a good comparison as to where that threshold lies while Nina remains silent and awaits my next statement.

"Image this." I begin again after the moment passes. "Right now I'm at a hundred from the kids missing and all. When Tolan and Cari break my favorite cup, I'm at a five. And after taking a long workout, I might be at a three. - I have to be at a one or less in order to get anywhere. Something I can't possibly accomplish if I'm not feeling absolutely safe."

A moment of silence passes before Nina starts talking again. "You seem pretty calm to me right now..." She says, accidentally speaking her thoughts before noticing the mistake too late.

"Oh believe me." I whisper to her with acted aggression, successfully emphasizing my point by letting a small pillow of smoke escape my maw. "The rage you saw me acting upon back in the cave is still there. But don't worry: neither you nor Treek will have to bear the blunt of it."

After silently yapping when I started the sentence, she is already back at my side a moment after I finish.

I sigh and while facing towards Treek's back, I continue to speak my thoughts. "The only reason the military is still after me and trying to catch me, is because there are ways of brainwashing me into not only reaching that level one, but also doing everything they'd ask of me after getting there."

"Nobody ever told me what was going to happen to you after we caught you. - Other than securing you and handing you over to our superiors." Nina continues the dialog halfheartedly, still with a noticeable hint of sounding apologetic. "I guess I always just assumed they ~had a plan~."

I sigh again and a moment passed before I finally respond while jumping over a root. "Sadly they have the technology; or biology in that case. And if there's one thing you can be certain of in this world, it's that you can't destroy knowledge once it's been gained, without destroying everything and everyone that may have ever come into contact with it."

'So true, so true...' I wander to myself, as I realize the depth of my words and how correct they truly are. But to my luck, or rather misfortune, there are much more pressing matters to attend to right now than philosophizing about the world and how everything works.

'Tolan... Cari...' I think to myself, before failing to keep my thoughts from escaping my mouth as I whisper. "I hope you're both OK."

Neither Nina, nor Treek had noticed and everyone remained quiet for a while. Maybe they did actually notice and understood my whispering, making them want to give me some time for myself. - Something I could have desperately used then and could still use right now. But as I continue to wander about what is going to happen, only able to hope for the best while preparing for the worst, the worst starts happening as a sharp needle hits my neck.

"Ah! Damn!" I yell, surprised at the sudden attack, but quickly realizing that more needles are just about to hit me.

It's not that we're under attack. Which would have actually been the better course of action that fate could have chosen for me. Because looking where the source of the needle is located, I can see a dark and menacing rain cloud already in the process of dropping millions more of the sharp, pointy and painful shards of liquid, surely not to miss me with my undeserved share of them.

As was to be expected, Treek stops walking and turns around to us. "We should stop walking and find shelter, unless you want the map to get all wet and even less readable than it already is."

I vigorously shake my head. "No. A little bit of rain isn't going to stop me from saving my kids."

The entire sky and forest is brightly lit in a blue-white light, before the air vibrates a loud thundering echo through the air, numbing my already strained senses while more needs find their way to hit my body.

"You can't be serious with this." Treek states as I clench my teeth and send him an angry glare. But while my body is less than content with the decision I'm making, I remain focused on my goal and use the rage about Treek's disobedience staring to surface for fueling by muscles and being able to carry onwards.

"Yes I'm serious about this." I speak, before being interrupted by an unexpected coughing fit. But as was to be expected, the weather doesn't look like it is going to get any better anytime soon. "Just keep the map dry and follow me!"

I hadn't noticed it myself, but at some point I must have fallen on all fours, probably from the weight and pain of all the pins landing on me.

But I try to hold onto all the strength I can come up with, while trying to ignore as much of the signals of pain that my head is receiving. And while I do know that what I'm doing is probably the stupidest thing any fire type can do, short of straight up falling into a lake, my mind is set on one thing and one ting only, which is rescuing my kids.

I manage to stand up and continue to walk forward, counting my steps, every time setting mind on simply taking one more step before changing my opinion to take one more. But my journey is short lived, as I don't even manage to reach Treek who was standing only meters ahead of me, still staring at me in confusion while not being able to understand why I would put myself through something like this.

"Cyder." He speaks up again, after what must have been only seconds if it wasn't for the painful overstimulation I had to endure in the meantime, stretching each second into a lifetime of pain and making me regret my decision if it wasn't for that which would await me at my destination. And I wasn't going to give up this easily.

'One...' I continue to count my steps. 'Two...' With each step getting harder and harder.

"One..." I whisper, attempting to get my body do understand the urgency of my requests, while each reflex there is yells at me to stop the nonsense. That I could never find the kids during a thunderstorm like this one. That there would be no way I could fight a dragon in this weather. But I don't care and ignore them as I continue onwards.

And probably just to tease me, the sky and surrounding trees light up again, fully encumbered by the brilliant glowing that is another lighting strike hitting the group somewhere nearby.

The thundering follows almost immediately and I know that the storm still hasn't reached its full potential.

"Stop!" Treek yells through the seemingly unending rain rattling on everything and not sparing any part of anyone around.

"Tw...o..." I yap while clenching my eyes. But when I open them again, I find that I hadn't taken a single step.

Although it felt like I was still walking, I find myself lying on my side, while the needles that were so painful before don't feel like anything anymore.

I can still look around, but not move a muscle other than my eye. And while my vision starts getting blurry I see a shadow wrapping around me, holding on tightly but not changing anything about the signals reaching my brain.

Nothing seemed different, but I find myself to still be fully conscious, with my mind still just as set on reaching the kids as ever. But as I try to shout out to the shadow as it continues to get more and more blurry, I fail to grasp whether or not any sound is leaving my mouth while the only sound I can hear is absolute silence.

'Kids!' I try to communicate, not knowing if I spoke or simply thought the word. But while the shadow blocks out more and more of the light that still manages to pass through the thick layers of clouds that must be towering overhead, hit the ground and finally reflect into my eyes, I don't remember if there was ever anything other than the darkness encumbering me.


	52. Fizzing

"I wish Stormcloud would have never went her own way." Treek says. "She could have fulfilled his wish of moving on."

"Who's Stormcloud?" Nina asks as a response.

"Oh. I guess you don't know. Some time ago, probably around the time you were just learning how to use your abilities, we had another member called Stormcloud. She was a Vaporeon, but she left when Cyder disbanded the old team to raise the kids on his own. - It's a touchy subject and it was a bad time for us, so try not to mention it to him."

After listening to the conversation for a while and not even knowing what the first thing that I was able to grasp was, my attempts at creating a sound finally succeed. "Ugh..."

"Oh!" Treek speaks up, instantly aware of me having returned to consciousness. "Move aside. I need to check it he's OK."

A moment of silence passes, and even before Treek starts speaking to me I start checking up on my body. A mistake in hindsight as the pain I get as my answer reminds me of what happened.

"Cyder?" Treek asks me for my attention.

"Yah..." I respond, surprising myself in being able to communicate using something different than moans.

"What is your name when we're in public?" Treek asks, surprising me with such a random question.

But I realize that he wants to make sure that I still remember my name after pulling such a stupid stunt. "Qu...ill..." I weakly respond, getting stuck on the first syllable for a moment.

'Why did I pull that stunt?' I wonder to myself. 'Why would I just walk around in the rain? - ...Oh no!'

I rip open my eyes, which immediately start to burn from pain before I see the Treecko staring at me.

"Kids." I croak, barely able to formulate this single word.

"Now don't be mad." Treek answers. "But we couldn't just let you die in the rain, so I patched together a quick little tent out of the sticks and leaves lying around."

'I could have guessed that part.' I think to myself, as I remember Treek's ability of commanding plants.

"And before you ask." He continues. "It's still raining and even if it wasn't I don't think you'd be able to do anything."

I don't understand what it is he's referring to as I continue to analyze the feelings of my body. Everything feels numb, with pain littered all over every part of it, and while there is still the possibility of something being wrong with me, I feel a considerable portion of strength and control over my muscles returning, as Treek continues to talk to me.

"Please don't try to run off on your own again, unless you want to commit suicide." He states. "Because you came extremely close to killing yourself, you know that?"

I don't understand what he is referring to. And with the miniscule amount of pain remaining and strength and willpower to do so, I manage to stand up if not mostly to the surprise of Nina.

"Cyder. Sit down again." Treek asks of me before I try speak up, only to be interrupted by an absolutely surprised Nina.

"How can he move?" She simply states, while I glance over to her without understanding what the problem could be.

"Cyder." Treek tells. "Please sit down and I'll explain to you why it is of the upmost importance that you remain still."

"Why? I feel great." I simply state, lying a bit as I can still feel the pain, but honestly do lack most of the determination I previously held towards my goal of saving the kids.

"Sure. I'll wait until the storm passes, but why should I stay huddled on the ground? Let's play cards or... right: Treek lost his bag. But no point to boring ourselves in the meantime."

Nina just can't help herself and begins spilling her questions. "How can you feel like playing cards? What is happening? Is that even the same Cyder?"

Treek interrupts her before returning to me and starting to speak. "Cyder. Remember telling when you learned about fizzing after one of your fire lessons?"

I think for a moment before it hits me what must be happening.

"Are you saying that I'm..." I try to ask, wanting to sound surprised and afraid, but finding myself to only be able to speak with a monotone, almost robotic voice before getting interrupted by Treek.

"Yes." He simply states, answering my question even though I already knew the answer.

I waste no time and carefully lie myself back down to the ground as I remember what I have to do in order to keep myself from dying within the next couple of hours.

"What is fizzing?" Nina asks while I close my eyes and begin focusing on finding my spark.

"It's when the ember of a Fire Elemental extinguishes after being exposed to too harsh conditions." Treek begins explaining. "It's not something that happens too often, but fire-types actually have a slim state between live and death during which they are still alive and can actually manage to return to health."

I do my best to concentrate on where my ember should be, but only find the lack thereof combined with a feeling I never felt before. It hinders my actions and delays every move I try to take while feeling much the same as being chained up. But instead of only hindering the motion of my arms and legs, it makes it hard for every drop of blood to flow through my body.

'This must be what being cold feels like...' I simply think to myself while not finding any pleasure from having learned something new. Not just because I'm unable to feel emotions without my ember, but also because I know that this would be something unenjoyable.

"You don't hear about it too often because if a Fire Elemental exposes itself to an environment that would cause this, it is unlikely that they can get out of there in time before it's too late."

'Right: the spark.' I think to myself, concentrating on remembering what I was taught in that lesson.

"Is there anything we can do to help him?" Nina asks, obviously directing the question at Treek.

"Sadly no." He responds. "Besides not being a distraction, this is something he has to get through on his own."

-

"How great for you to actually show up today." Flare greets me before I even manage to enter the school court.

He is the Flareon that was assigned to me as the fire master that should teach me control over my ember.

I forget how many times we've already met, but this one sure wasn't one that I've been looking forward to.

"I'm sorry sensei." I greet the impatient Flareon as I carefully take the first step into the court, fully expecting him to launch a surprise attack like he has already done so often in the past.

He always says that you have to use your ember out of reflex, but I honestly never agreed with him. I was a fire type from the very first breath of air I took. Unlike him I might add, as he was given the choice of embracing the fire culture. So unlike him, I should have been born with these so-called fire reflexes I've been having so much trouble grasping since my first lesson with him.

Since then I definitely became much better at controlling my ember, but not without my own share of setbacks. Most notably when I lit up the school's cafeteria. But at the core, he is a truly good 'mon, since he even took the blame for my fiery slip-up before paying for all the damages.

"'You mind explaining to me why you didn't show up the last. - what?"

After a short pause during which I feel more and more ashamed of myself, he finally continues. "Oh right! Four times! Four times you simple failed to show up. I was just about to leave for good and your next task would have been to look for a new master."

"I'm sorry sensei. But I was preoccupied." I try to explain myself, keeping my head low while still not daring to set a foot on the ground of the courtyard.

"Preoccupied with what?" He simply responds, eyeballing me but with the anger in his voice already fading.

"It's... it's complicated." I babble, before finding the grip on my voice and quickly adding to my statement. "But it won't happen again, promised."

Master Flare lets out a sigh before continuing to talk to me. "Then stop wasting both of our time and get over here. And don't worry: today we're only going to go through some of the more theoretical situations you might find yourself in. Then I'll tell you what you have to do to survive."

"Yes, sensei!" I exclaim respectfully before stepping into the court and quickly dashing over to him while being careful not to lose my hat during the sprint.

It's actually a wonder he has never asked me to take it off, but I guess Asselia made it quite clear to him that I was to keep it on at all times.

"Good." He begins speaking in regular volume once I reach him. "Now I won't have to shout loud enough to have every 'mon living from here to the other end of the mountain range hear me."

Not knowing how to respond, I simply give a nod before Flare continues.

"As you know, there are a few things you have to stay away from as a fire type. Let's start today's lesson by you listing them to me."

"Erm." I begin, honestly not having prepared for an exam but from my previous encounters with it immediately remembering the first correct answer. "Water."

"Correct." Sensei responds. "What else?"

"Ah..." I continue to think back to previous lessons and the other painful encounters I had in the past.

'Of course!' I think to myself as I remember the correct answers. "Ground and Rock."

"Yes, you are correct." Flare nods to me. "But you're still missing one."

"Huh?" I can't help myself from wondering out loudly. "I'm pretty sure that's all of them, Flare."

"That's sensei for you, mister. And no: you're still missing one."

I fret myself over my inability to remember what the forth weakness could be. But after some time of me thinking about the answer passes, the Flareon grows impatient and interrupts by thought process.

"That OK." He says laughingly. "If you're ever confronted with it out there, you can just die knowing that you were too lazy to study."

"No, sensei!" I shout out frightened. "Please tell me. I want to learn!"

"That's the right attitude. And I hope you keep that determination when you eventually stop skipping school."

He gives a hearty chuckle before continuing. "Because I actually never told you of a Fire Type's forth weakness."

I angrily scowl at him while he laughs and isn't looking, but I can't stay mad at him before he falls silent and finally begins explaining.

"It's something you probably never encountered before, or even knew existed. Mainly because your ember usually does quite a good job at protecting you from it."

I intently continue to listen to sensei's words while I sit down on the hard cobblestone floor of the courtyard.

"But you may have heard other 'mons mention something called ~cold~."

I did actually hear other 'mons speak about such a thing, but like the Flareon is implying, I never actually understood what they were talking about.

"The sensation of cold is hard to explain to someone who naturally can't feel it, but it doesn't really matter what it feels like. When I was still an Eevee, I remember always shivering during the season of solid water, which was one of the main reasons I worked as hard as I did to get my paws on a fire stone... but I digress."

"There is something called ~fizzing~ which could potentially make you feel the cold as well. If you're in a terrain so harsh that it has the potential to kill you, like a storm or a blizzard, there is a chance that it manages to extinguish your flame."

"But sensei." I interrupt, not understanding. "You taught me that I'd die the second my ember would go out."

Not being bothered by my interruption and actually proud that I remember him telling that to me, he answers my question. "And you'd be correct with that assessment. Except for a very minor detail: just before you die there is a small timeframe during which your ember will have already gone out but you'll still be alive. It's complicated and gets even more complicated when you consider all the things your ember is actually responsible for in your body."

"The first thing you might notice is the absence of your emotions, as your ember is the main source of all the feelings that only us sentient 'mons have. And I sadly can't tell you how long you will remain in that state. But in order to reach it at all, you have to stop yourself from being exposed to whatever it is that is killing you. And what I'm about to explain to you right now, is how you can reignite your ember once the fire was extinguished."


	53. Spark

"You have to find your inner spark." Sensei explains.

"My what?" I simply respond as I have no idea what he might be referring to.

"It's not something you might have ever noticed, but you have to remember what I taught you: every fire there is was ignited by something. Everything there is has a cause and a causality, leading it to be the origin of something else that might happen."

I nod and act like I remember the point when he told me that, but if I had to be honest, I don't remember him explaining that to me. Although it does sound really wise and feels like something a sensei would say.

"Well..." Sensei continues. "Why don't you light this twig right here?"

From seemingly out of nowhere Flare pulls out some random twig and holds it up to my confused face.

'What would be the point in that?' I wonder to myself, but shrugging my shoulders, I decide that there would be even less of a point not to follow his orders and light the twig.

Lighting a twig is quite simple and I try to show off my abilities by summoning a candle in my paw instead of shooting a fireball at it, like some of his other students would have done in this situation.

A moment later the twig is burning softly while sensei sends a pleased at me and the tiny piece of wood.

"Now tell me, Quill." He begins speaking again as the twig has almost burned down. "How did the twig catch on fire?"

I should have gotten used to sensei's thought process, but his questions still manage to surprise me every time he asks one of them.

"I lit it on fire, like you asked me to do." I answer blatantly, not understanding what the Flareon was building up to.

"Just like you lit this stick..." He says, managing to interrupt the sentence the very moment the fire consumes the rest of the stick and extinguishes after licking against sensei's paws holding the twig.

Taking his eyes off of the charred pile of ashes and staring back at me, he finally continues. "Every fire type there is has something inside that is capable of producing that initial fire capable of burning on its own until the no more of the twig is left."

He has my fullest attention while he continues to explain. "That is what the spark is. It is located quite close to where your ember originates from."

"So what you have to do is remember exactly where your ember is. Because if one day you can feel it blazing no more, you have to search for the muscle controlling your spark near your ember."

"Couldn't I just search for it now?" I speak up without even thinking about my question.

"How would you know when you found it?" The Flareon returns. "Your ember is already burning and how would you know when you found it."

Out of nowhere, sensei pulls another twig and sets it on fire himself.

"Set it on fire." The challenges me. "Don't be shy. Just set it ablaze."

"But it's already on fire." I blandly respond.

"Exactly." Flare responds and extinguishes the fire before wasting no time to launch a surprise attack aimed at me.

"Now defend yourself, I want to see your reflexes!"

-

'My ember!' I cheer in my mind, finally feeling what Flare meant when he explained how feeling cold was like. 'You really don't know what you're missing until you lost it and found it again. - Ha. That sounds like something he would have said...'

Thanks to what I was told all that time ago, I actually manage to find my spark and reignite my ember. Flare was correct, though. Locating one's ember is quite difficult and if I wouldn't have done what he told me and remembered exactly where my ember was and fortunately is originating from again, I would have never been able to find the exact spot.

"T... Treek?" I began babbling, feeling myself coming back to life after being forced to shake the paw of death himself yet again.

I know I can still feel the pain from the rain water dripping through my fur. But nothing can compare the feeling of the fire blissfully starting to heat up my body, returning to give life to the vessel holding my conscience. And with my emotions returning alongside it, I realize that they are a part of me I wish I could somethings get rid of, but also that a live without them would be a life worth living.

"Did it work?" A voice I immediately recognize as Treek's responds.

"Yes..." I state, happy and glad to live another day after just having experienced something I wouldn't even wish my worst enemy to go through.

'You truly don't know how much you miss something, before you lost it and find it again.' I continue think to myself, not aware of my wet fur or the raging storm only centimeters away from me while Treek and Nina start cheering for me.

"You are such a dummy!" Treek exclaims. "Why would you do something like that to yourself?"

My newly regained emotions are overwhelming me and I can't help myself but to be filled with an all-encompassing happiness. Happiness because I'm still alive, happiness because I'm among friends and happiness because I can feel happy again.

"I'm sorry, Treek." I sob with tears of joy. "I'm sorry I was such an idiot."

But to my dismay, happiness isn't the only emotion that is returned to me, and I remind myself about the absence of the kids.

'The kids...' I think to myself, turning my smile into an instant frown.

I stop talking and while not daring to look into Treek's face, I attempt to stand up again. Because now that my ember is burning again, there is nothing standing in the way of me getting ahold of my full strength.

"Take it easy, Cyder." Treek attempts to stop me, an advice I gladly follow as a notice how drenched my fur still is, making it feel like I'm walking through a humid jungle after being dragged through a swamp.

"And don't even think about going out there." He continues while pointing behind himself.

Looking past him, I can see Nina standing next to the entrance of the make-shift tent that Treek must have thrown together. It's a very small shelter, made out of sticks and branches that must have been lying around the forest floor, while only being held together through some vines binding the sticks at the top of the roof and the willpower of Treek still present to keep everything together.

I sigh and following Treek's orders, I lie myself back on the ground while looking up at the ceiling. The roof covered with leaves is located less than a meter above me, something I notice only now that I'm looking at it. It's actually a wonder that I didn't hit my head when I was standing right here before I learned about my state.

"You're looking good." Treek compliments me, thereby stopping me analyzing his roof.

"Thanks." I respond, not really feeling as great as I apparently look, but already finding comfort in the fact of my ember slowly drying my fur. It's probably going to take some time before it will be done and all the water have evaporated. But one it has, I should take no permanent injuries from the ordeal.

Treek continues to stare me down, making me start to wander what he is thinking about. But while returning my glare at the ceiling, I start listening for my surroundings.

The raging storm can still be heard just outside and from time to time I see one of the leaves wiggle and trying to escape. But Treek being the Grass Type that he is did a good job of securing the tent, leading me not to worry about it withstanding the portion of the storm that still hasn't already passed.

"How much time passed since I started fizzing?" I suddenly find myself asking out loudly. I hadn't intended to ask the question already, but for some reason the thought reached my tongue before arriving in my mind, leading me to wait for the answer I would surely get in a moment's notice.

Only staring at the ceiling, I didn't notice Nina sitting at my side, looking over me as if she was my bodyguard.

"Not too long." She begins speaking, causing me to notice her before she continues. "Treek was pretty fast with putting this tent together while I blocked you from the rain in the meantime. And you came back, not knowing what was going on about five minutes after we got you inside."

I wasn't really going anywhere with my question, which was the reason I was surprised finding myself stating. But now that I got my answer, I only nod as a response before rolling onto my side in an attempt to locate Treek.

He is sitting next to the entrance, occasionally peeking outside while probably making sure that no one would launch a surprise attack at us.

I've never told him, but since the first time I witnessed his abilities to command grasses and plants, I always felt a bit jealous. Not only was he a much more dedicated student that I was while we were both taught how to control our cores, but unlike me he went above and beyond, learning how to master his powers after only a couple of lessons.

I sigh as I remember back to the simpler times, when we were still living at the Eastern Mountain Range Guild under the caring protection of guild master Asselia.

Treek was always so good at commanding plants to form shelters and I don't even remember how many he built before constructing the one I'm currently lying within, listening to the rain pounding against the roof and thinking about the past.

'So much has gone wrong since those simpler days.' I wonder, hypnotized by the feeling of warmth slowly starting to spread to my limbs and the strangely relaxing sound of the water falling from the sky right next to me, only being interrupted by the occasional lighting strike followed by the associated rumbling of the clouds.

Rain is truly a spectacular miracle of nature. And if it wasn't for the danger is represents for my kind, I might even someone who enjoys being outside during a storm.

'So my things I wish I would have done differently.' I continue to ponder my thoughts, before I get surprised by Treek suddenly leaning over me.

"I hope you learned from this." He begins, immediately making me cringe from the thought of being lectured about my actions. But before I can respond, telling him that I'll never do it again he continues talking. "But much more importantly: why didn't you just tell me that you were up for a rescue mission before running away back at the cave?"

I cringe again, rolling my eyes before slowing sitting up.

Not even having to think for a moment what he is referring to, I remember what happened before I got distracted by the abduction of Tolan and Cari. All that I saw in my visions. All that happened and all the connections I've made since then. And even though I haven't reached any more conclusions since then, I understand Treek desire to be told more than what he already knows.

"Look Treek." I begin, glancing at Nina to see what she is doing. "I wasn't myself this morning. And the thing is: it's really complicated. But if I had to summarize it: I've had a vision. And in that vision I was told that the library was in danger."

Treek really wasn't expecting me to jump ahead this much and appears to want to interrupt. But while he only looks at me with a tilted head, I glance over to Nina, to see her intently listening to what I'm saying as well.

I fully expected her to pay attention. And as long as it took for me to admit it to myself. And as much as she had to do to get there, I finally start getting comfortable enough to trust her with some of the more basic knowledge I possess.

Looking back at Treek, I can see that he finally processed what I just told him. But before he can say a word, I speak up again.

"Before you ask: I have no idea what that danger might be. But my point is that it can't be good and just when I was about to understand some of it, all this happened."

I sigh before I continue. "And I guess my ember expected you to connect the dots and figure out that I was fine all along. And I'm sorry about that, but I don't think there's anything I can do about it right now."

Silence settles back in, but after a few moments Treek decides to interrupt it and begins speaking to me again.

"I did have a feeling that that would be your answer. And I guess I was a bit too commanding of you when I wanted to prohibit you from leaving the cave at all."

Treek sighs just like I did a moment ago before he continues a moment later. "But next time try to remember that we're all on the same side."

I nod, suppressing another sigh for being heard before choosing to change the subject.

"I guess we won't be getting anywhere today..." I speak up, only to be interrupted by Nina.

"Hold on now." She suddenly says, causing both me and Treek to turn to her. "It's great that you let me hear that right now, but unless you were speaking in code, I have no idea what you're referring to."

Crooking her head and sending me a confused look, she continues. "I assume you're talking about the library of the ancients, but before the rainstorm you told me about how you couldn't access the library. Or were you lying to me?"

"I..." I begin, as I notice a detail I didn't notice fore. "I wasn't lying. And we're not speaking in code. I just had a vision."

Nina still seems dissatisfied, but I quickly look away from her to follow up on the thought I just had.

'Considering I saw myself back in the storage shed, was I actually in the library then?' I start wandering. 'I must have been, because I remember seeing myself there. But how is that possible?'

I thought this revelation would start making it more clear to me what actually happened, but there is one big problem with this detail. 'There should be no way I can enter the library without physically summoning an entrance and heading through. I couldn't have been in there, while my body was having a seizure someplace totally different.'

I put the detail aside, reminding myself to take it into consideration the next time I'd be thinking about it. But I know that I'm not going to reach any sort of conclusion at the moment. Much less before rescuing my kids.

I shake my head, trying to get the frightening images of them being devoured by a dragon out of my head, before I finally succeed and turn back to Treek.

"Like I was saying." He begins. "It was already nearing dusk, and looking outside right now it's getting darker and darker."

I sigh, mainly because what I'm about to say goes against the will of my ember. 'Maybe my new one is a bit more considered...' I wonder for a moment, not actually knowing if the metaphor of all my emotions coming from my ember is to be taken literally. "I guess we'll sleep in here for the night and get up early in the morning to continue on the rescue."

I wrinkle my forehead and take another look at Treek, before continuing. "Please don't tell me the map was destroyed through all of this?"

Treek immediately understand my concern and shows me the map he had somehow managed to conceal from me the entire time. "The map's fine. But I hope you don't mind me holding onto it from now on."

I try to force a smile on my face, but end up with a deformation that would have probably been humorous if it wasn't for the context. And not wanting to appear stupid, I quickly state my response. "I understand. You hold onto it, but don't be cranky when I wake you up, demanding to head out once the first rays of tomorrows sun cross the horizon."

Treek doesn't respond verbally, but manages to form the smile I so desperately tried to conjure a moment ago, before I glance over at Nina standing next to him and wish both of them a good night.


	54. Food Chain

"Honey, I'm home. And I brought dinner!"

A Dragonite excitedly flaps his tiny wings while landing on the top of a mountain that must be his home.

Twisting his head and looking around he notices the one he was searching for, as another Dragonite walks out from behind a conveniently placed rock protruding from the solid ground of the mountain plateau.

"Took you long enough." She responds, walking up to her apparent husband who has just finished landing.

"But I think you're going to like this one." The male dragon bickers back before revealing what he was concealing in his claws.

"NO!" I cry in fear, immediately recognizing his prey as my kids which I set out to rescue. "DONT!" I continue to shout while my cries remain unheard, not causing either of the Dragons to slow down its pace or look in my direction.

"Are they dead?" The female dragon asks. "Because if they are, you know they won't eat them."

"Please, stop." I cry, starting to whimper and attempting to move, but noticing that all movement I try to perform is hindered by an invisible force, preventing me from even closing my eyes and forcing me to watch everything that is happening.

"Of course they're not." The first Dragonite responds. "I know that the younglings wouldn't touch them if they were dead. – Because unless you forgot: I was a Dragonair once, too."

The female rolls her eyes before she continues to speak. "I know. I know. I was just checking."

Walking up to her husband, she gives him a kiss on his forehead and welcomes him home.

"Oh Arceus." I bid any higher force that might head my plea to intervene. "Please make it stop. Don't make them do this!"

The two of them start moving off together and with every fiber of my being I hope that this would be the end of it. But my wish is denied, as the invisible force starts moving my apparently floating body through mid-air, continuously following the two walking dragons while preventing me from looking away for even a second.

"Wha-ha-ha-hay?" I sob. "Why are you letting this happen?"

The two creatures finally reach their destination where my worst fear is confirmed. A small pond is hidden just on the other side of the mountain, not visible from plain view and covered with a small protrusion of stone. It is filled with water and soft pillows of steam ascend from it, as I notice movement inside the liquid.

"Ahhh!" A cry for help distracts me from the horrendous image of what is about to happen. I immediately recognize it at Cari's voice, my own flesh and blood, shouting for help and hoping for me rescue her.

"CARI!" I shout from the deepest depth of my lungs, depriving me of all the oxygen it held only moments ago.

But my cry remains unheard as I notice tears falling of my snout directly in front of me. They are my tears. The tears of a father about to lose his kids without the ability to do anything about it.

"Shush!" The female dragon grumbles while facing the Cyndaquil, before turning towards her husband. "You call that unconscious?"

"I never said they were." He responds, denying his responsibility for Cari waking up. "I guess they were out until now because of the thin air."

The male dragon shrugs his shoulder while keeping a tight grasp on my kids. And after a short moment passes, the female Dragonite rolls her eyes one more time before responding. "I guess it's fine... in that case the younglings can get excited about getting to play with their food a bit while it's still squirming."

"No..." I whisper, desperately hoping that it was all a big misunderstanding or just a really bad joke. But there is no doubt left about what is going to happen next. And even though I manage to force myself into not believing this truth, a part of me knows that both Tolan and Cari are going to be the dinner for some snakes.

I try to look around, to see what it is that is holding me, hoping that I might be able to overcome the grasps of my captor and be able to rush to their rescue.

But just like before, I still find myself unable to move a muscle. With whatever it is that is holding me keeping too tight of a grasp on me to do anything about.

"Autsch!" The male dragon suddenly shouts, a statement I barely manage to hear while being distracted by the painfully strong beats of my heart pumping blood through my anxiety filled body.

A glimpse of hope overcomes me, as I realize what it is that he is shouting about.

Tolan somehow regained his consciousness as well. And while his sister took her chance to cry for help, he remained frozen and acted like he was still unconscious. That is: up until now, as I happily watch him successfully having wrestled his way out of the grasps of the Dragonite, while currently being in the process of freeing his sister.

"Yes!" I shout, with rivers of tears still running out of my eyes. "I believe in you, Tolan!"

"Aren't you a feisty little one." The Dragonite speaks to my son in a tone way too sweet to be appropriate for what he is planning to do.

"Get him Tolan!" I shout with the glimmer of hope still alive, trying to ignore the fact that the dragon doesn't even appear to be concerned about the Cyndaquil scratching at the claw holding his sister.

"Yes..." I say again, the word overflowing with hope while I know that it wouldn't reach the ears of anyone, but hoping that they would somehow manage to reach the minds of Tolan and Cari.

"Hang on a moment." The dragon states while his wife looks at the sight and giggles.

"No..." I whisper at what he does next, wanting to shout the words louder than anything I ever shouted, but somehow managing to end up with the emotional whisper that just left my mouth.

The dragon, in his unending cruelty, decided to let go of the struggling Cari. But not because Tolan managed to hit a weak spot between the strong scales surrounding the claws of the beast. The dragon threw her on purpose, with a trajectory sending her straight into the steaming hot tub filled with the young dragoney snakes all eager to take the first bite out of her young flesh.

Cari hits the water and Tolan and I look at what is happening in shock while the male dragon takes the chance to grab him again.

"No..." I yap, not having taken another breath since my last word and failing to find the air necessary to form the words that nobody would be able to hear in any case.

"Cari." I begin whimpering, trying even harder to free myself from the force that is holding me.

"Cari-i-i-i..." I continue to sob, not even hearing my own words anymore while my mind is focused on my daughter wildly splashing around in the water.

It must be so horribly painful for her, not only because of being exposed to an environment that would kill her no matter what, but also because of what I continue being forced to look at.

I wish that my tears would blur my sight, but everything remains way too clear as I helplessly watch my one and only daughter getting torn to shreds by the rampaging and hungry mouths of the dozens of Dragonairs swarming her, first ripping of her arms, leaving her without the ability to keep her head above the surface and literally drowning her cries of pain and help, before moving onto her legs still paddling crazy in the hopes of somehow rescuing the body they are attached to.

"Cari..." I stammer, without the ability to grasp what is happening. Or rather not wanting to understand as the sight is just too horrendous.

Tolan is frozen and hasn't even noticed that the dragon is once again holding him by his arms, before the creature begins speaking a moment after the torso of Cari vanishes and the water of the pond has changed its color to a mild red.

"I like you..." The dragon exclaims, now talking to my son while my eyes continue to remain focused on tub of red water, still throwing small waves against the surrounding rocks from the battle for food that must still be taking place underwater.

Cari has yet to vanish from my vision, even though I know that what I see is no longer there. Yet she isn't the lovable Cyndaquil that I know her as. Her fire was extinguished, never to return and all that still remains of her are the chunks of meat getting ripped apart into smaller and smaller pieces before vanishing as they are swallowed by the snakes filling the pond.

And while I can't take my eyes of the spot I last saw her at, and continue to stammer the name of the soul that this vessel used to hold, the dragon unimpressedly continues talking to my son.

"As a matter of fact: I won't throw you in here." He continues, finally managing to grab my attention with the tiny sparkle of hope that I so desperately have been holding onto. - That maybe I would be able to at least rescue my son, now that there is the truth lingering of me being the father of only one Cyndaquil.

"What are you talking about?" The female dragon responds. "Look at the kids! They're hungry now."

"Don't worry." The Dragon retorts, now talking to his wife. "I made sure that whoever was with these two is on their way right now. I left a map detailing where they should go. Their supposed to bring poké and once they get where the map is leading them to, we can pick them off one by one. - So we'll be set for quite a while, if not forever."

The female dragon does what she does best and simply rolls her eyes while I couldn't care less about learning that the map is a trap.

Looking away from his wife and back at my son, the Dragonite starts whispering to him while still allowing me to understand his words just fine.

"...Because you're mine." He says while Tolan whimpers in fear from the beast and sorrow over the loss of his sister. "We're go'na have some fun together."

"Please no." I whisper before finding my voice and continuing to shout. "Arceues! Rescue him! Don't let THIS happen!"

But I receive no answer, nor did anything appear to have heard my words.

"Then let the games begin." The Dragon roars before dropping Tolan to both his and my surprise. But not to the surprise of his wife, who gets back to her job and walks off to get new water for the pond.

"RUN!" The Dragonite shouts at him, causing both me and the Cyndaquil to flinch.

"You Arceus-Damned Sick BASTARD!" I shout from the bottom of my lungs after realizing what the sick dragon is planning, putting as much anger and spite into the words as I can manage and once again leaving me gasping for air while I notice the tears falling off of my muzzle having returned.

Tolan understands and does as the dragon commanded him to do, dashing off in the hopes of escaping death. Maybe finding a cave he could hide in. Or maybe managing to get down the mountain and escape into the forest surrounding it. But while my hope is determined about his success, I still know that it isn't going to be easy for him, considering how thin the air must be this far up.

"Go Tolan!" I shout towards him, putting all the strength I have to spare into wishing my words would reach him. But with nothing in sight responding to any of them, I can only wish that might have heard them while not being able to do anything but to watch him running away.

The Dragonite decides that enough time has passed and jumps off the ground, letting his tiny wings do all the work while flying after the running Cyndaquil much faster than my son could have ever wished to run.

Like I should have expected and wouldn't have wanted any other way either, the invisible force still tightly holding me begins shifting again, causing me to head after them without letting a single moment pass during which I can't see both of the creatures.

"Yes!" I shout at Tolan. "You can do it!"

But the dragon doesn't show any weakness and continues to be faster than Tolan heading down the mountain, who thus far has managed not to trip and tumble the rest of the way, surely breaking his neck in the process. But I'm still helpless and forced to watch as the uncertainty of Tolan's success starts growing with every meter previously having kept him and the dragon apart vanishing as the dragon purposely takes his time and doesn't speed after my son with all the strength he could conjure up.

'That sick beast is enjoying this.' I think to myself before shouting at the dragon. "How can you enjoy this, you sicko?!"

But with no response I'm forced to continue watching the dragon starting to charge his elemental core, readying himself to release the energy and kill his prey.

"Please." I start bidding again, knowing that not much more time remains before it would be too late to save this last remaining light still flickering its fire in the dark corridor of my memories which was once brightly lit by the eternal flames of those I held close to my heart.

"Please." I keep trying to persuade my captor into releasing me, or at least give me any respond at all. "Let go of me. - I'll do anything."

But the invisible force remains strong, silent and unwilling to grant me even a paw's length of wiggle room. And I am just as helpless as I ever was while nothing has changed and I'm forced to watch the dragon fire the beam he was charging.

The beam of pure, destructive energy connects, hitting Tolan in the center of his back and robbing me of any words I could cry, but not making any difference as nobody would have been there to hear them in any case.

Tolan's legs stop moving and his momentum causes him to lose control as his body starts tumbling down the mountain side.

Tears flow out of my eyes and I immediately fell the loneliness of being the last remaining fire still burning, surrounded by darkness and dead candles without the ability to see further than an arm's length.

Small speckles of red start covering the rocky surface as the Cyndaquil continues to tumble downwards, closely followed by the dragon rushing after him.

The world feels cold. Something I couldn't have put in words if it wasn't for my encounter with fizzing. But the coldness is different, unnatural. And even though feeling could wouldn't be natural for me in any case, this feeling of cold is different. This is a coldness that shouldn't exist. - A coldness so alien that I have to wonder if it was created just for me and this moment alone.

But without the ability to stop it encumbering me while Tolan finally comes to a stop as he head-first crushes into a protruding rock stopping him in his tracks, I realize that I felt this coldness before. - That coldness is something I tries to hard to forget; so hard to push aside and never dare to touch it again. - But it is back and stronger than ever.

After realizing that his prey is no longer moving, the dragon takes his time to catch up while I feel like I'll never be able to speak again. - With words still not coming to me alongside the inability to express my emotions or ever open my mouth at all.

I'm forced to notice the red juice of life flowing out of a big cut in my son's forehead, courtesy of him using it to stop his fall.

The cold only continues to spread throughout every fiber of my being while everything surrounding me starts resonating that cold.

A small gust of air blows through my son's fur as I wish I was allowed to reach out and touch him. But like every other of my wishes, this one isn't granted either. And as painful as seeing my own son lying dead on a mountain side is, it's even more painful knowing that a carnivore, who is surely not going to honor him by burying his body, is only moments away from claiming the flesh of his prey.

I wish the moment, as painful as it is, would last forever as I know that what is to come cannot be described in words. But the universe continues to be bent on opposing any and all of my wishes as the Dragon arrives, looking at his dead meal before picking up the vessel that once housed a 'mon I couldn't have cared for more.

"This was fun!" The heartless beast exclaims while picking up the limb body. "Too bad you're dead, because otherwise we could do this again."

I want to feel hatred for the indignity of how he treats the fallen. But all I can feel is the sorrow of losing not one, but both of my kids to this heartless monster.

And without wasting any more time, the Dragonite drops the corpse of my son into his maw while not even noticing that one of its broken legs is still hanging out the side of his maw.

He bites down, detaching the limb while I'm yet again forced to watch.

"How much longer... until you stop this cruelty." I finally manage to sob again, while the Dragon continues to feast on Tolan's dead body. "How much longer until it's over."

"I don't want to watch anymore." I continues to plead my case, having long lost the ability to cry the words as loud as I would like to.

"Please. I just want to..."

-

"Wake up!" Treek yells at me, doing his shake me awake without burning his paws as he manages to roll me from side to side.

Small burn marks still result from him doing so and are covering the tips of his paws, something he doesn't even seem to care about.

"Wake up!" He continues, as I realize that I was sleeping and the picture of the Dragon spitting out of the chew off bones of my son vanishes.

"You're having a nightmare!"

I spring open my eyes and gasp for air, as the dream left me with an empty lung.

"It's OK." Treek immediately responds after noticing the signs of me having woken up. "We're all here."

His statement fills me with hope and I waste no breath before responding.

"The kids?" I ask, hoping that more of what happened was just a dream.

I don't get my answer at once as my eyes adjust to the brightness surrounding me, but after a moment Treek finally responds. "They'll be fine. That's why we're here. - We'll be saving them today."

Everything finally comes rushing back to me, and looking past the Treecko and a Zorua standing behind him, I can see the light of a new day's sun shining through the canopy of the forest surrounding us, reaching the the ground where it slowly crawls into the make-shift tent that Treek had set up.


	55. Determined

The sight of the morning sun and the feeling of my dry fur telling me that my body has fully recovered from what I had it go through fills me with hope. Hope that today will most definitely be the day that I'll be seeing Tolan and Cari again.

"I'm sorry." I respond after shaking my head in an attempt to get forget about the dream. I don't even know what the apology was for, or who the statement was directed at. But Treek appears satisfied with my response and finally decides to let go of me.

"That must have been one hell of a bad dream you just had." Nina makes herself heard, before I take the high road and greet her with a good morning as I don't feel like talking about what my subconscious just had me witness.

I shake my head again, forcing myself to stop thinking about the dream while filling the void it left in me with the hope and determination of not letting it happen for real.

"We need to head out." I try to change the subject, hoping that no further questions would be stated about what the dream may have been about. And unlike during the night that just passed, my wish is granted after Treek allows me to stand up and starts talking.

"You're right." He begins. "There's no point in wasting any more time. We're all rested as much as we can be and if we continue to wait for something to happen, we'll just get hungry for food that we don't have."

I shiver at the mentioning of food as images from my dream start showing up again. Images I wish I could forget, but know that they will haunt me until I can convince every fiber of my being of their wrongness. They will continue to stalk me up to the point when I will see them again. When Tolan and Cari are finally and safely back in my arms.

I disguise the shiver by closing my eyes and shaking my head again, forcing the images to vanish for a while before I open them again and take another look at Treek staring at me with concern written all over his face.

"I'll be fine." I respond. "And don't wait for me to get ready, because I am."

Standing up straight, only to finally hit the roof of the tent and forcing me to stand crooked, I take a determined pose while staring back at the Treecko who finally appears satisfied with my determination.

"I hope you're not faking all of this and in actuality you just had another seizure..." He begins before cutting off in mid-sentence, probably remembering back to how I reacted the day before. And not wanting to upset me again, he turns away and faces Nina.

"You heard the 'mon." He states while facing the fox. "So we better start moving out."

Nina gives him a nod and after sending me a concerned look of her own, she finally decides to turn around as well before following Treek who has already left his self-made tent consisting of sticks and branches.

Being the last one still in the tent, I realize that I should start moving as well. And just in time, as me still standing inside the tent would have gotten awkward if I stayed any longer.

So I step outside, while Treek sends me another concerned look to which I respond with the same determined smile I gave him before, followed by me nodding at him to emphasize my point.

He wrinkles his forehead a bit before turning away, leaving me without anyone staring at me while Nina is focused on him.

Without anyone speaking any words, probably still thinking about what it is that I had to endure, Treek pulls up the map and begins studying it with Nina while I take a look around our surroundings.

I immediately recognize that we are just a few meter away from where I collapsed last evening during the rain storm. The memories are still fresh in my mind and I know that it's an experience I won't be forgetting anytime soon.

My eyes focus on the point where I remember lying while everything started getting blurry. And while my ember shamefully flickers inside of me, I even notice the paw prints of me and the others, alongside the mold of my body lying in the dirt.

The ground still fells wet and I get ripped out of my thought as a stray needle hits my back, causing me to freeze in anxiety.

'I thought it was over.' I think to myself frightened, before realizing that the drop of water must have waited for me to come along before falling from the leaf that had been holding it in the air up until this point.

While letting out a sigh, both from relieve and annoyance that I have yet to see, or rather feel, the last of the storms legacy, Treek seems to notice my discomfort and gives me a weird look.

Instead of nodding yet again, I decide to walk over to him and join him while in studying the map. But I'm too late as he puts it away before I arrive.

"According to the map, we have to go that way." He states while pointing north.

"Then let's go." I speak up awkwardly starting to walk the direction he's pointing to.

Treek takes my hint and walk up next to me as I start leading the group without even having looked at the map. Yet after arriving at my side, I give him a quick glance he doesn't return before focusing back on the wet and uneven ground, leaving my paws with a tingling feeling after every step I take.

It's nothing too bad and definitely not something you'd find off-putting, unless you're rich enough to always get carried around and already find the thought of walking on you own annoying. But never-the-less, I definitely prefer walking on dry grounds, something that will sadly be quite impossible for a while.

Showers are quite common during this time of the year. And while we most definitely left the season of solid water behind, there is always the chance of an odd shower before the weather stabilizes and stays warm until the nature will die again at the end of the year.

"Do you want to talk about it?" A familiar voice suddenly interrupts my meaningless thoughts. I recognize it as Treek's and would have been surprised if it was anyone else talking to me.

Not immediately responding, I start feeling his eyes poking me from the side before finally deciding to honor him by responding. And while turning my head to face him, I can confirm his look as I begin talking with my feet still tingle after every step I take.

"It was a pretty bad one." I begin before taking a short pause to collect my thoughts. "And I hope you understand it if I don't want to talk about it right now."

Looking back at the path up ahead, I sigh again before continuing to talk without actually looking at my friend.

"You probably guessed this part, but it was about the kids. - And it was pretty bad."

Another moment of silence passes and I look back at him to notice his concerned look before he takes my own glare as an invitation to respond.

"I understand, dude." He full heartedly speaks. "I'm worried as well. But you can't keep yourself down like this, because otherwise you can't expect us to count on your participation if it comes to a fight."

Looking away from him and back to the ground, I sigh one more time before responding with a feeble voice.

"I know. But..." I try to begin before collecting my thoughts once again. "Just... give me some time to get over it."

I sigh while still looking at the ground and continue speaking a little bit louder. "Because there is some part of me that tries to convince me that it wasn't just a dream. But I'm sure that once I seem the kids again, that part will remain quiet and in no case will I let it stand in our way."

"Cyder." Treek suddenly speaks and stops, causing me and Nina to stop before I look back at him. "I know you don't want to think about it and I guess that's what your dream was about. But even if we don't find the kids, I have to be able to count on you to not just stand around in shock while we have to fend of the bad guys."

I look away and without responding I start heading the way we were walking.

"Cyder. Please." Treek speaks to me from behind with the only other audible sounds being my own paws walking the ground and tingling whenever I take a step. But before I can take two more steps, I manage to find the will in my heart to respond.

"For the dragon's sake..." I begin, my words overflowing with determination. "Let's hope it won't come to that."

Treek seems to understand and knows that I won't just be idly standing around if we don't find them. Because if that is truly what is going to happen, there is nothing that can stop me from fight until either me or the dragon is dead. Even if it meant I had to fight, dominate and kill dozens of dragons.

"There is nothing that would stop me." I state after a while with Treek walking at my side again. And with my teeth crunching against each other I continue stating my intentions. "And if they're gone, there is nothing that could stop me from wiping out everyone and everything that stands in my way."

I snort and blow a pillow of smoke out of my nostrils while keeping my eyes narrowed on the path ahead of me.

"Nothing." I say again, barely whispering the word and not even caring whether or not Treek would actually hear me. Because the only being I stated it for is myself, convincing my ember that the fight has yet to be lost. That it ~was~ just a dream. And that I ~will~ rescue both of them, no matter what.

Because hope dies last. And hope will always be there – always - until no one is left to express that hope.


	56. Old Acquaintances

We've been walking for quite a while already and Treek has taken up the lead again, while Nina and I continue to head after him. After noticing my rage, he gave it sometime before saying another word to me, but even if he might think that my wrath has subsided, it is still there, bubbling and growling in the inferno that is my newly awakened ember.

The density of trees has increased once again and we find ourselves in quite the dense forest. And with their canopy blocking out more and more of the sun, the forest floor has become less and less wet, making it much more comfortable for me to traverse the terrain without the constant tingling in my feet while less and less shrubbery covers the ground.

It has gotten quite a bit darker and after Treek took over the lead, letting me fall into second place, Nina took the chance to ask me if there was anything she could do to make me feel better. But after I thankfully declined her offer, the journey continues on without any conversations being held.

Yet the mood changes quickly when Treek suddenly stops in his tracks, causing both me and Nina to almost walk into him.

"What's the matter?" Nina immediately asks him, while I think that Treek was going to tell us even if she didn't ask.

"Over there." The Treecko responds while pointing to our left.

There, a couple of dozen meters away from us, I can see a small wooden hut. Build from very dark wood and shrouded in shadows, one could easily miss it when looking over the area. And with no light coming from inside, it appears to be uninhabited while reminding me of the abandoned hut I found together with my wife at the shores of the Davira Sea. But obviously they aren't the same while I begin wondering what this random hut is doing out in the middle of nowhere, hoping that it would have nothing to do with the library or distract us from rescuing the kids.

"We should check it out." Treek advises before I immediately step in.

"No, we shouldn't." I begin scolding while navigating myself to stand between Treek and the hut. "Unless that's where the map tells us to go, we don't have time for exploration and have to carry onward in our rescue."

"Well..." Treek begins. "It's not where the map tells us to go, I think." He explains while, sounding unsure as we can't be for certain about the map's accuracy. "But we should definitely check it out."

"Why?" I retort, already feeling like I would have to steal the map to head off on my own.

"There could be supplies." Nina inserts, making me feel a bit dumb for not thinking about it while both her and Treek must have shared the same thought.

But before I can state another denial, Treek continues talking. "Come on, Cyder. We had neither dinner nor breakfast. We're starving."

Still determined and only slowly starting to get persuaded, Treek continues to take any chances I might have had for responding as he doesn't stop speaking. "As a matter of fact: we should start eating on a more regular basis. And notice how I'm the one saying that and not Nina."

I roll my eyes and try to mention my concerns before I give in and endorse the plan. "What if isn't abandoned?"

"We'll make sure it is before going inside." Treek immediately states the obvious response. "And if it isn't, we'll be on our way again in now time."

He takes a short pause while already waiting for me to respond, but when I don't do so immediately he prompts me to a second later. "So what do you say. Can you do us all a favor and let us hopefully get resupplied?"

"Ugh..." I finally say now that I'm given the chance to make myself heard. "You're right. - Let's go. But we should only take what we need."

A smile forms on Nina face as she is most definitely pleased by the thought of getting something eating again.

And not wasting any more time, both she and Treek start heading towards the hut, with Treek leading the way and me trotting behind the two of them.

"Don't even think about taking another step!" A voice suddenly shouts, seemingly coming from everywhere without me being able to pin-point its exact location.

Both Treek and Nina instantly freeze with the hut still ten meters away for them, while I find myself doing the same and stop moving.

"Don't come any closer unless you want to end your life." The voice repeats itself, as I get a chance to analyze its tone.

It sounds like it's a female speaking. And while I can't be sure of the species, it doesn't sound like a 'mon acting out of hatred, but more like a 'mon acting out of distress.

Yet it made its point very clear and nobody dares to move a muscle while we continue standing where we are, willing to comply with demands as they come.

"We're not here to..." I try to speak up, but get interrupted by the voice furiously silencing me.

"Don't talk!" It shouts. "I know why you're here and I thought I made it quite clear that I'd never let you have them!"

'There must a misunderstanding.' I think to myself, honestly not knowing what the voice is referring to.

"Look." Treek tries his luck in talking. "We're not who you think we are. So if you just let us..."

But just like me, he too is interrupted by the voice shouting at him.

"Silence!" He is interrupted, the voice sounding even angrier than before. "I'll tell you when you can speak."

We do as is requested of us and no sounds can be heard for a moment. I notice another rusting in the canopy above us. But not daring to make a sudden move, I decide not to look up and simply hope that it was just a random breeze.

'We must have walked into a trap.' I find myself thinking. 'I have to tell Treek to escape on my mark.'

"Treek." I try to whisper in his direction but fail to gain his attention. The distance between us is just too great, I don't want to risk speaking any louder out of fear of how the voice commanding us would respond.

But any further tries I would have attempted are cut short when the voice finally ends the silence and starts talking again.

"Now tell me: why did you come back?"

I really don't understand what is going on and in an attempt to relieve some of the tensions flowing through the air I begin speaking for the group. "We're not who you might think we are."

"LIES!" The voice shouts, making me flinch from the sheer volume. "Are you taking me for a fool? Do you think I wouldn't remember you?"

'Where is the voice coming from?' I start wondering to myself more and more as it still appears to be coming from everywhere at once. 'There must be some really smart trickery going on, using echoes to reflect the sounds from all around us.'

"I ask you again: why can't you take a hint and leave me and the kids alone?" The voice repeats its question, sounding a bit like it has begun crying.

"Haven't you already taken enough from me?" It elaborates, followed by a silent and weak sob.

'What is it referring to?' I wonder to myself again.

"I remember now!" Another voice suddenly speaks up, as I turn towards Nina to see her being the one who has spoken. "You're from Remiku."

"So you do remember!" The voice shouts back, making it quite obvious that it is crying while I start to understand what is happening.

Whoever the owner of this voice is must be someone from Nina's past. And when we showed up and started heading for her home, she recognized her.

"Listen." I begin speaking, hoping that I wouldn't get cut off by the voice as I lower my guard and take a more relaxed pose. "We're not from the military if that's who you think we are."

"Why should I believe you?" The voice retorts, sniffing and getting ahold of itself again. "And why did you bring a soldier?"

"Former soldier." Treek answers the question. "The Zorua you see before you, has stood up to her superiors and all of us are on the run from the governments, like I assume you are too."

"LIES!" The voice shouts back at us. "How can you expect me to believe such a lie? I'm not a racist, but you can't expect me to believe that a dark type saw the error in its ways."

Nina suddenly starts moving again, heading for where Treek is standing while the voice tells her to stay where she is twice, before the Zorua arrives at Treek's side.

"I don't expect you to believe me." She begins carefully.

"Good, because I don't!" The voice instantly interrupts her, sobbing again the process of responding. Yet Nina ignores the interruption as she continues.

"I'm sorry for what happened to your town. And I assume you lost someone that meant something to you."

"You're Arceus damn RIGHT!" The voice shouts back filled with rage, interrupting Nina again while I'm fascinated by the courage the young fox is showing with her actions.

I get distracted with yet another rustling in the canopy up above. And with Nina distracting the voice I dare to take a look, managing to glimpse a shadow swiftly vanishing before I can make out what it was.

"But consider this." Nina continues, giving the voice a chance to interrupt her. Something it doesn't do as Nina is allowed to continue talking.

"Look at who is with me." She continues as I understand what she is going for. "Have you ever seen a unit containing a Quilava or a Treecko?"

The voice doesn't respond and silence settles back in for what feels like an eternity. Not even the leaves above us are rustling and nothing can be heard while I start to reconsider the thought of running away.

But just as I'm about to commit to the plan and whisper Treek to follow me, hoping that Nina would take the hint and follow us shortly, the door of the hut slowly opens before a Marill slowly steps out of the shadows filling the inside of the building.

The water type remains standing inside the door frame, glimpsing over the three of us and sending me a glance I can't quite interpret.

A few more moments pass and I start feeling like I should say something, but before I can open my mouth or do anything, the creature starts talking to reveal its voice to be the familiar tone of the 'mon that had been talking to us before, only this time making it clear that the words are coming from her.

"Then who are you?" She asks, glancing over each of use while stating the sentence, before finishing and keeping her eyes fixated on me.


	57. Explain!

Everything is silent and all eyes are fixated on me, as I finally begin to find the right words.

"Look." I begin, doing my best to disguise my voice while trying not to appear threatening. "It shouldn't matter who we are. And we'll just be on our we if you..."

"No!" The water type interrupts me again and I start to get the feeling that this is all she can really do.

"It does matter who you are. Because I can't let you get away if you're just going to tell everyone that you found me."

I sigh and even though the Maril continues to threaten us, not venting any of the pressure she had been holding back, I get the idea that she is more bark than bite. But not wanting to challenge the intuition, I'm quite happy to leave the spotlight when Treek steps in to try and answer the question.

"You want to know who we are?" He begins, grabbing everyone's attention. "We're here because we're searching for something. - But don't worry, because it's not you."

"Yesterday we were resting in a cave a few kilometers east from here, when we were raided by a Dragonite."

To my surprise the mentioning of the dragon's species seems to have released a lot of the tensions, as the Maril leaves the battle stance she had been holding since revealing her location, making me wonder if there is anything she might know about this.

And with my interest at its peak as well, everyone continues to listen for Treek's explanation.

"Alongside stealing all of our supplies, he kidnapped Quill's two Cyndaquil kids before vanishing as quick as he must have appeared while leaving us a map of some sorts."

As Treek finishes the explanation, I look back over to the water type still standing in the door frame. She looks quite embarrassed for some reason, but tries to hide it as she responds in a much more serene voice.

"So you were raided by some dragon who left behind a ransom note, right?" She asks us.

'Treek didn't mention anything about it being a ransom note?' I wonder, almost calling the Marill out on her mistake. But it doesn't take a moment before I connect the dots as even before Treek can answer the question with a yes, I clench my fists and take a few steps towards the water type.

I feel no fright from her water and my ember starts boiling in both excitement and wrath from the idea that this creature, that has been threatening us and wasting our precious time for what feels like an eternity, is actually the culprit of our entire situation.

"Where are they?" I speak, trying to sound calm but making my anger quite clear as my body shakes from the rage and the air around my maw begins jittering from the heat leaving my lungs.

The Maril had already noticed my movement a moment ago, but while still only looking at me without adverting her eyes, she continues to do nothing but wonder about both her own my next action.

"What did YOU do to them!?" I shout, no longer caring about the volume of my voice.

I hear the sounds of a flock of birds flying off, from the sounds of it being Pidgeys probably startled by my sudden shouting. But I couldn't care less about scaring away the forest's critters and continue to keep my eyes pinpointed on the water type while narrowing them with every step I continue to take towards it.

"Wait." The Maril speaks up after a moment. I don't know how many steps I've already taken towards her. And I don't know if she was planning to defend herself once I would have arrived. But neither my furious mind, nor my blazing ember are willing to listen to her.

"Let me explain, because I can still make this right." She asks me, forgetting of her elemental superiority and instead taking a step backwards into the shadow of the hut she originally came out of.

"Then do." A different voice interrupts me and causes me to halt. It is Treek who has stepped in my path, showing me his back while looking at the Water Elemental.

The rage is still flowing through me, but I come back to my senses, knowing that this is not yet the time for fighting. And so I halt my advancing, respecting Treek's symbolism in being willing to listen to whatever the Maril would tell us next.

"Please don't be mad." She begins. "Because we're really not bad 'mons."

"Who is ~we~?" Nina interrupts, as I notice that she has walked up to stand next to Treek still blocking my way. Just like Treek she must have taken the chance to walk up while I was distracting the Maril. But even though I'd like to know who ~we~ is just as much as them, there is a question I find to be much more pressing.

I jump around Treek and even though startling the Maril, I ignore her fear and state question before she can answer Nina's.

"Are they OK?" I ask, the thought of the answer I might be getting reminding me to the sensation of cold, while the rage I promised my ember to act upon begins to flare up its fire. It is a very weird feeling, because on one paw I feel quite alive and hot, while simultaneously feeling like all my limbs had turned to stone a long time ago.

I don't know what would happen if the answer is a no. I don't know what unspeakable things I would do without regret, not even bothering to think twice about their consequences. 'No.' I reassure myself. 'Today there isn't a place for logic. Today I will listen to you, ember. And only to you.'

I already begin narrowing my eyes, as what feels like an eternity passes, before the few moments the Maril needed to understand my question have gone by and I'm greeted with the best response I could have wished for.

"Yes." The water type responds, instantly widening my eyes and changing my grim growl into a delighted and thankful slime. "Tolan an Cari are both OK, if those are their real names."

Tears of joy almost start flowing out and the flame that had already been licking my throat, asking to be released changes its mood as well. It shares my happiness and not even the tiniest piece of the cold I still felt moments ago remains.

I want to ask where they are, wanting nothing more but to see them as soon and quickly as possible, not even caring about how they got where ever they are right now. But none of the words I want to utter manage to escape my mouth as tears of joy start to appear on my cheeks. And while my jaw opens and closes as I try to speak, attempting to ask the questions, I fail to communicate before the Maril continues to speak to me.

"I guess an explanation is in order." She begins and I no longer notice any of the aggressions her voice was underlined with before. "You should come inside."

I don't have to be told twice. And unlike my voice failing to follow my orders and only slowly returning, I find myself inside the hut only a split millisecond after the water type finishes her sentence.

It is dark and I fail to recognize any shapes in the darkness. I assume there is some kind of artificial light source in here, but it is not something I'm concerned with right now.

'Calm down, Cyder.' I tell myself, noticing how excitedly the fire in my core is burning, making me all jumpy. 'I know you think they're in here, but she didn't say that.'

Yet my flame doesn't listen and by the time the Maril has managed to turn around, with Treek and Nina only slowly starting to enter after me, a sizeable candle flame has spawned in my paw, lighting the room and allowing me to see everything that lies inside.

'The Maril must live here.' Is the first thought that come to mind. And as I look around I can identify a kitchen containing a small oven alongside a sink with a rusty faucet. Everything looks old and broken, but still in use to the best of its extend. Yet as I continue to look around, I quickly come to the conclusion that the Maril isn't the owner of this building.

The floor is made out of stone and while everything feels a bit moist, probably from the Water elemental that has been inhabiting this place for who knows how long. But what really makes me certain that the Maril isn't the owner is a drawing of a Dragonite hanging on the wall.

I instantly get reminded of what Nina had told us. And while I know that I should stop jumping to conclusions, I can't help myself from doing so and start assuming that the hut belongs to none other than the kidnapper of my kids.

I continue to look around, as no more than half a second must have passed since I summoned the flame to help me look around. But what I see next shocks me, because it is not something I would have ever expected to see in a place like this.

Now looking away from the kitchen area which is towards the left from the main entrance, I look to the right where I can see two weathered old couches standing against the back and side walls and next to a door in the back. And while I have no idea where the door leads, assuming that it's probably just a back entrance, I immediately notice something hiding in the corner between the two couches.

There, barely lit by the light of my fire, but still quite visible I see two creatures. Two young creatures.

But they aren't mine. I would have expected to look into the faces of two Cyndaquils, but instead find myself staring into the bewildered faces of two Azurills. They must be the kids of the Maril that had just let us enter her home. And while it makes me wonder why she would trust random strangers to enter her home, I start feeling guilty for not waiting my turn and rushing in the moment my ember realized that I was allowed to do so.

My eyes remain fixated on the two of them. Both of them are completely frozen still, staring at me while probably wondering what that weird 'mon they've never seen before is doing in their house. For a moment I actually consider the possibility that they're not even real. A theory that proves to be wrong just a moment later when I notice the small movements of their lungs expands and collapse as they steadily continue breathing.

Both of them are very young, probably not even a year old, and I start feeling as if they are simply hoping that I didn't notice them, patiently waiting for me to look another way before daring to move again.

Something about this situation reminds me of the past. And I know exactly what it is I'm reminded of. And even though it was a completely different situation then, a small smile crosses my face as I remember the kids of the Azumaril at Azura-Inn in Lamborgy. Back when I was still with my wife and we were just considering the possibility of having kids of our own. Back when we hadn't even determined that we would raise our kids in Corasona.

My smile vanishes. 'Back when she was still there.'

After what feels like an eternity of me staring down the cubs, but must have actually been no more than a second or two, the Maril, who is probably the mother of the two steps into view, thus preventing me for continuing to stare at her kids.

And while she doesn't look too happy by the apparent absence of my manners, she decides to let it slip before finally uttering the next word.

"Let me explain myself." She begins anew, now addressing all three of us as I notice that Treek and Nina have finally entered the building as well.

"By ~we~ I meant the Dragonite you must have already encountered." She explains, now facing Nina as she was the one who had asked that question. But with me still being perplexed about the presence of kids that are not my own, I don't interrupt her like I did a moment at.

"See: ever since my home town Remiku was raided." She states while sending Nina an angry glare for a moment before proceeding. "Ever since then I've been on the run. And it really isn't easy, not just because I can never know who to trust, but also because I have two young kids."

"Like you do, too." She says a moment later in an apologetic tone while facing me again. "And I'm sorry for what I put you through, but I didn't know."

Something in me is willing to listen to the water type. I know that only a moment ago I would have ripped out her throat if she had given the wrong answer. But now I feel for her, not just because the sight of her kids completely erased my previous deduction of her being one of the many criminals that roam the country, but also because I believe that she lost something that was precious to her as well.

"After a while of being on the run, always traveling from one hiding spot to the next, always on the lookout for some shelter from the freezing temperatures that plagued the country during the last winter, I ran into someone who understood what I was going through at the time."

Pointing over our heads and towards the drawing of the dragon I've previously noticed, she continues. "He probably wouldn't want me to give you his or my name, but let me tell you: he has a heart of gold."

No longer pointing at the portrait, she continues talking while actually forming a smile.

"He took me and my kids in. He gave us a chance and a new home. And all he asked in return was my allegiance to his cause."

The smile vanishes as she realizes that she must have drifted away from what she actually wanted to tell us. And while I find myself wondering what said cause might be, the thought only lasts for a moment before it is interrupted by the Maril taking again.

"But neither of us are rich. And I have to raise my kids, meaning that I have to spend most of the day raising them without being able to collect the supplies for them."

I know her problem. As a single father I more than often found myself having to skip a meal or having to go hungry for a day, just to find the time to supply my family with food while still raising both of the kids alone. It was hard work. And even though I still think it was and still is worth it, I know that I was very privileged with the garden that Lydia had built for us.

I sigh silently, but can't shake the though while I do my best to continue listening to the Water Type talking.

"So he is always out and about, looking for supplies when yesterday he came across what he thought to be a prisoner transport."

'A prisoner transport?' I wonder to myself, not understanding what that has to do with anything.

"But being as smart as he is, he saw a chance to do some good by freeing the prisoners. So he came back and told me about it."

The Maril sighs and closes her eyes for a moment before continuing to explain. But before she can begin, I notice a blue, smooth ball appearing between her legs, only to be joined by a second one. It's her kids, probably still feeling threatened by Nina's, Treek's and my presence.

"When he told me what he had seen, I couldn't help but shake the feeling that we had to do something about it. He mentioned an evil looking dark type and I didn't have to think before I knew we that we had to save them. But before he could fly off to save them, I stopped him when I had the idea of demanding ransom for their release. Something we'd never do in any case, but the poké could still help us further our cause."

It suddenly clicks in my head and the last puzzle piece falls into place. I understand now what had happened. And I see that my fears where not based in reality. And while I find myself still wondering what her mysterious cause might be, the thought quickly gets pushed aside as I remember that the most important question still hasn't been answered.

"But where are Tolan and Cari?" Ask out loudly, surprising myself at how smooth and gentle my voice sounds.

The Water type looks up, taking another look at me while repeating her silent apology before speaking up.

"Come with me." She says and gestures me to follow, something I don't have to be told twice.

My perception appears to have slowed down again, and while I wish that the Water Elemental would move faster, not even thinking about where she might be leading me to as she isn't heading for the exit of the tiny hut she calls home, I notice that I'm no longer carrying a flame. Looking around I notice a lantern hanging on the wall that must have been ignited at some point without me even noticing it.

And after yet another eternity passes, we arrive at the door I previously assumed to lead to the outside.

The Maril opens it and as it slowly swings open it reveals nothing but more darkness.

My heart is pounding loudly, drowning out apologetic words that the Maril must be telling me while I stare into the darkness.

A light suddenly springs to life, revealing much of what is before me. It isn't the light of a lantern, or the light of the sun. It is a fire. A fire I was afraid to never see again. It the fire of love, peace and hope. And it continues to burn brighter and brighter, engulfing my entire existence as I recognize it and feel it recognizing me.

"Dad!" Tolan shouts, while Cari decides to skip the greeting and immediately starts dashing towards me, extinguishing the flame she had casted a moment ago which had allowed me to recognize them.

All I can do is smile. Smile more than I ever smiled in my life. At least that is what I tell myself while my heart doesn't stop pounding as loudly as it manages to do. The pounding keeps on going and I keep and smiling while Cari doesn't stop her dashing towards. She was only two or three meters away from me and I know that I'm perceiving time like I always have, but the moment still seems to last forever.

And that is when it hit me. Both physically, as Cari collides with me, not caring about any damages she might cause by colliding with me and mentally, as I find myself remembering something I thought about ever since we got separated.

I knew that I was going to see them again. I knew that there was going to be a happy ending. Not because I saw some mistake in the Marill's plan and might have known that the ransom note was bluffing from the beginning.

'You only know how important something is to you once you lost it and found it again.' I remember while hitting the rocky floor after being knocked back my Cari. I cry tears of joy as Tolan doesn't waste any time either and lands on my stomach. 'And I already lost you before and already knew how it felt to find you again. It is hope I felt then. And it is hope I'm feeling now. It is something I should be quite familiar with by this point, but it is still something that manages to overwhelm me.'

But it is a good feeling to be overwhelmed by hope. And it is a good thing to care for someone so deeply that you wish them nothing but the best.

My hearing slowly returns to me and I notice a minor pain where I collided with the floor. But I don't really care about the pain. Not just because I couldn't possibly feel any pain right now, but also because I'd be willing to feel the greatest pain of all if it meant that it would lead to a happy ending such as this.

With the smile still covering my entire face, I look towards my right where I see Treek and Nina staring at me, shocked at what it is that is happening.

I don't understand what it is they are so shocked to see. Did they not complete the puzzle? Because in my opinion the Maril made it quite clear as to what happened.

"You..." The Maril begins babbling and my heart stops pounding as I notice that is me who didn't connect all the pieces.

"You are..." The water elemental begins anew, only to stop again.

'I couldn't have possibly...' I think to myself, understanding what it is that must have happened. And stilly lying on the floor, I look up towards the front end of the hut to see my hat lying half a meter away from me on the rocky floor with the door frame directly behind.

Inside the door frame I see a Dragonite standing, giving me the same bewildered and shocked look that the Maril must still be sending me.

'Oh. No...' Is the only thing I can think of as the smile has disappears and Tolan and Cari, still not understanding having realized what happened continue to hug me to death.

"You're the Holder!" The Maril finally finishes her sentence and stating the now obvious.


	58. Hidden Paradise

"Master." She addresses me before pausing for a moment, while Tolan and Cari are only slowly staring to understand that there is a new problem. "It is such an honor." She continues before falling to her knees and looking at the ground is respect.

"Forgive us master." The dragon starts talking and I notice that he, too has dropped to his knees.

Tolan and Cari have stopped with their hugging and are now intently listening in on what would happen next.

And I know exactly what is going on. I know exactly why they've suddenly started calling me ~master~ and I also realize what that mysterious cause must be that the Maril keeps referring to.

Yet I really have no idea on what to do now as there is no situation I could have prepared less for. But with all eyes directed at me and still filled with the joy of being reunited with my kids, I know that there are no real dangers left. – At least for me.

"Stop." I say, speaking to both the Dragonite and the Maril, while neither Treek nor Nina, nor the Water type's children understand what is happening and continue to stare at me bewilderedly.

"Don't call me that." I continue to speak after having waited for a moment. I had hoped that my two devotees would have stopped staring at the ground, not daring to look me in my face, but I get no response from either of them as they don't even seem willing enough to stand up.

I sigh and take another look at Treek and Nina, with the two Azurills now sitting on the couch next to them. Although both Treek and Nina have changed their facial expressions, no longer staring at me in fear while still wondering what it is that is actually happening.

"Listen." I speak again while standing up, before stopping mid-sentence as I don't really know what it is I want the others to listen to. But with everyone's attention already fixated on me, I know that asking them to listen to me is just a formality as it is.

The awkward silence continues for a little longer and some time passes while I alternatingly look at Treek and Nina, still not having moved a muscle, before returning my gaze to Tolan and Cari excitedly looking at me.

After what feels like an eternity of the awkward silence, I still haven't figured out what I'm going to say next. There is nothing I can say that would make the two of them stop worshipping me, so trying to make them stop would just be a waste of time.

Time that I'm already wasting by just awkwardly standing without doing anything and having everyone patiently wait for me to do the opposite.

I finally sigh and with all eyes either directed at me or the floor, I brush the dirt off my paws for a moment before stepping over to where my hat had previously landed.

Leaning forward and picking it up, I finally find words I could use to possibly get things to move forward.

"I assume you're with the Hidden Paradise?" I ask while brushing of some more dust that had landed on the hat while lying on the floor.

While looking absentmindedly and staring past the dragon still standing in the door frame and still not daring to speak up, a voice finally responds from behind me.

"Yes." The Maril responds as I put on the hat and turn around to look at her and my kids standing between us.

"Come on now." I suddenly speak up, no longer feeling like I can take the pressure. "If you want to do me a favor, then just stop staring at the ground and start acting normally again."

Annoyed from being given the silence treatment, I walk back to where I was knocked down to and proceed by picking pick up Tolan and Cari.

They let me do so and while grabbing them I get reminded of how heavy they actually are.

'Whatever.' I think to myself, not knowing how to break the awkward silence.

And while walking over to Treek and Nina, I continue my thought out loudly. "They're go'na have to start acting normally again at some point."

"Why are you calling C- Quill, ~Master~?" Nina finally does me a favor and breaks the silence as the first person other than me.

'Oh boy.' I think to myself. 'Here comes the nonsense.'

I already knew that a question like this one would have broken the silence. That it would have practically forced them to start speaking again. But I decided not to state such a question, firstly because it would have sounded weird coming from me, and secondly because of what they're about to tell Nina.

"How can you not know?" The Maril asks Nina back, her voice still underlined with admiration and respect.

I turn back and try to look at the water type, actually managing to establish eye contact for a moment. Only to have her immediately break off and stare at where my mark is hidden under the hat before quickly looking back at the floor.

"Oh come on!" I speak, getting really annoyed and hoping that something might change. I know that the dragon and the Water type won't stop staring at the floor whenever I try to look at them, but even though it shouldn't annoy me, it really does.

I look over at the couch and still see the two Azurills, looking at me from time to time while spending most of theirs's by looking at their mother, probably sharing my wish of having her return to normal.

"Let's sit down." I invite myself and the rest of the team to sit down, knowing that nobody would dare to deny my request.

Next to the couch the Azurills have returned to sit on, there is a second couch standing against another wall. And with my eyes fixated on that couch as a place I could finally sit down and stop worrying about everything for maybe just a moment, I walk over while dragging Treek behind me. And with Nina following on her own, I finally arrive at the second couch before sitting down.

Even though I have to be careful not setting it on fire, it feels much nicer than the rocky floor. And despite it being covered with dust swirling up as I sit down, the sensation of having the soft and smooth cloth supporting my weight makes me feel like a royalty.

Something I might even be able to compare myself to when being in the presence of 'mons like the Dragonite or the Maril.

Treek finally starts moving again and takes the first chance to talk to me, speaking silently out of fear that the action could be misunderstood.

"Who are they?" He asks me the obvious question. And having known that this was going to be the first question the Treecko would ask me, I simply give him a nod, telling him that I know who they are and that it's a question I will be answered in due time.

Staring over at the two of them, I find them glimpsing at me from time to time. And just like them, the Azurill kids do something similar as they constantly keep their eyes focused on me.

"So back to the question." I speak up, knowing that all ears are paying attention to me. "We've had quite the journey today, so why don't we get things started by you returning our bag and getting us something to eat while I do your job of explaining what the Hidden Paradise is?"

I don't have to say twice. I don't even have to wait for a nod they would have never dared to send into my face, and instead watch as the Dragonite quickly vanishes out of the door frame, followed by the Maril dashing after to help him with the assignments I tasked them with.

"That should keep them busy for a few minutes." I speak up relieved, almost feeling a bit too lazy to start explaining while the smooth silk caresses my fur and I find myself petting Cari lying on my stomach with Tolan being tightly snuggled up against my side.

But sadly there is something that everyone needs to know before our hosts return. Something that should have been important enough for me to start talking about before being able to enjoy the comforts of the couch.

"The Hidden Paradise is cult devoted to me. I'm like a legendary to them." I shake my head, to get the facts straight as I don't think that too much time is left. And quickly glancing at the Marill's kids sitting on the other couch, I wonder if they are even old enough to speak the common tongue. 'They might be...' I quickly conclude, remembering that Nina must have raided their village whey they still had a father.

And finishing up with getting my thoughts straight, I turn away from the cubs and face back towards Treek and Nina, interestedly looking at me.

"It's too complicated how they came to be, and if you want I'll tell you once we're back on the road. But for now, be careful not to insult me or do something they might consider offensive, or else you might have a bad time."

I quickly glace at the door, hoping to find out how much time might be left, before hastily continuing. "For now let's just take this to our advantage and enjoy being reunited with the kids."

I wait for a moment for Treek and Nina to give me a nod, before I look back at the door to see the Dragonite staring at me and quickly looking away once he notices me looking at him. He's holding Treek's bag in his claws and as I look at it, it almost appears to be in better shape than it was the last time I saw it.

It also looks like some supplies were added in the meantime, as I don't remember it being to full.

With me looking at him and some part of me hoping that he would just, simply return the glance, seeing me as the simple 'mon I am, I quickly remind myself that he might have not even followed by task if it wasn't for the reason that makes him act like this in the first place.

The dragon slowly walks over to us, holding out his arm and taking one step at a time. He almost looks like a child taking its first steps after feeling the fire of live course through its veins and feeling the desire of exploring the world.

There is nothing the Dragonite would want more than to walk up to me, like I still wish he would. But just like the child taking its first steps, he too finds it most difficult to move forward.

He finally arrives and Treek does him the favor of taking back his bag, only to fall over the moment he takes ahold of it.

~ Clonk ~

The bag hits the floor and I can hear the sounds of coins clattering on the inside. And since we didn't have any money to speak of to begin with, there is only one reason for where those coins could have come from.

I give a mental sigh, knowing that I'm now tasked with somehow getting our hosts to take back what they want us to have. But I know just as well that I can't just ask them to, because they'd never comply with that.

'No...' I find myself thinking. 'I have to make it sound like I'm disappointed with their gift, yet not in a I-want-more kind of way but rather in a not-what-I-asked-for way.'

"I said I wanted our bag." I speak up, underlining my tone with acted anger while facing the dragon occasionally glimpsing at me. "With that I meant our bag with its original contents and nothing ~but~ those original contents."

'I don't even want to guess how much poké they must have put in there.' I think to myself before finding myself to actually do wonder about it. But as the thought of simply accepting the gift and taking off with their life's savings pops up, I remind myself that there is no need for that, and that one of the reasons the two of them captured my kids was because they needed the ransom money they hoped get.

"You want me to break my neck?" I shout out, doing my best to sound mad while actually feeling sorry for how devoted they are. "Our stuff and only our stuff!" I continue exclaiming. "Unless you want to disappoint me."

The notion of disappointing me seems to have done the trick, as the Dragon takes back the bag, helping Treek who was still lying on the rocky floor get up as well before turning away and heading towards the kitchen area, probably to quickly deposit what is rightfully his.

I turn to Treek and look as he sits back to the couch, while noticing Nina sending me a disappointed look to which I respond by rolling my eyes.

I look back towards the kitchen section, only to find the dragon missing and instead already standing right next to Treek, now handing him the much lighter looking bag, definitely only filled with what it was we originally had stored within.

"Thanks." I respond on Treek's behalf who doesn't seem willing to speak to the beast towering over him, probably out of fear he might offend him like I earlier mentioned he should be careful about.

And while the Dragonite takes a step back, the Maril returns through the front entrance, carrying a quite expensive looking platter filled with all sorts of berries.

I instantly feel bad for having requested something like this of them, as I wouldn't have expected the two of them being able to conjure up something expensive looking like this.

I try not to look at the Water type as she approaches the couch with the platter, hoping that she might feel less awkward without me looking at her. But before she arrives, I quickly dare to look her in the eyes as I don't want it to appear like I'm not appreciate her offering. And as I establish eye contact, I manage to get her to smile for just a moment before she notices what she is doing and looks away.

I sigh yet again and accept the platter filled with the delicious fruits. I can see all kinds of berries. Orans, Pecha, Cherries, I can even count two Sitrus berries.

"Thank you." I quickly and sincerely respond, not wanting to appear ungrateful even though it wouldn't have even mattered in the long run.

Cari is the first to make a move and hops off my belly, quickly grabbing one of the Sitrus and not waiting for a single second before taking the first bite.

Mentally shrugging my shoulders and feeling my stomach bid me to do the same, I simply smile and grab on of the many Orans before quickly taking a bite out of it.

After what I went through to get here, reunited with all those that matter most to me, the berry tastes just so much better than it would have on any other day.

As the sweet juices flood my mouth, caressing my taste bugs and reinforcing the smile on my face, I finally feel like everything is going to be fine. - Like there was never anything wrong to begin with.

I close my eyes and see myself being about to have the best day of my life. My mind is back at home and it doesn't care that it was destroyed. Because in a way it wasn't. It is still just as it was all the days before we were raided. With everything where it used to be and how I liked it.

But as my longue starts getting used to the sweet aroma, the image vanishes and I'm pulled back into a reality not quite as comfortable.

"There's one thing I was wondering about, though." I begins speaking my thoughts as I fulfil the wish of my taste buds to take another bite of the sweet fruit.

"Didn't Tolan and Cari tell you that they weren't Prisoners?"

I don't know why I would have expected them to answer me, but after not getting any response for a moment, the picture of my cozy little den vanishes completely and I remember that the silence treatment probably won't stop anytime soon.

Turning to Treek, I give an audible sigh before talking to him.

"Hey Treek." I distract him from the Pecha he had been enjoying up until this point. "Could you ask them again, because I don't think they have the Guts-To-Respond-To-Me." I finish my sentence, now facing our hosts.

It takes another moment, but to my surprise the Dragon finally begins talking, as I was actually quite serious about Treek restating the question if he hadn't.

"They were in deed telling us about you. But neither did they mention that you were the Holder..." The Dragon pauses, feeling ashamed for uttering a word carrying such meaning in his opinion so blatantly.

But after he swallows, he quickly continues as to not disappoint me.

"We though they were brainwashed. It wouldn't have been the first time we encountered something as elaborate as that. And with only a single soldier being there to transport them, I assumed that that must have been the case." The dragon loudly sobs, surprising me as he didn't sound sad a moment ago. "I'm sorry master. I'm sorry we stole you offspring."

"Hey." I try to calm him down. "I didn't ask because I'm mad at you. I wouldn't be sitting here and enjoying your food if I was still holding a grudge. I just asked out of concern. I understand what happened, and neither of you did anything out of hatred or greed."

I quickly laugh to raise the mood before adding onto my statement. "And don't call me ~master~. Just call me Quill."

The dragon looks up from the ground, actually making eye contact for the first time and to the greatest of my surprise, before overcoming himself and beginning to talk.

"But your name is Cyder." He blatantly states.

"Oh yeah." I respond, feeling stupid that I didn't remember. "Of course you know my real name. I've just gotten so used to calling myself Quill when among strangers."

The dragon looks back to the ground and I finally understand that it must be the right of calling me by my real name that made him snap out of his trance and actually look at me.

"But you can call be Cyder. Both of you." I quickly state, hoping that my idea would work out. And looking around, I can see the Dragon now looking at me, alongside the Maril doing the same.

And while smiling at them, I take another berry of the platter before wasting no time and taking a hearty chunk of the juicy, fruity meat out of it.

"Autsch!" Treek yelps, as I notice that it wasn't a berry I had grabbed, but rather his paw holding a berry.

I immediately let go and look at him rubbing the burned skin around his paw. I have to do my best to suppress laughing at his pain, not because his being hurt humors me, but because his timing and response was just impeccable.

"Sorry dude." I state, as I reach for another berry, this time making sure that is wasn't somebody's limb. I guess I didn't notice since Treek's kind of a fruit himself, being a Grass Type and all.

"Yeah yeah yeah." He states while rolling his eyes. "You always say that and expect me to forgive and forget. I don't even remember how many times I've already gotten hurt because of you."

I cringe and hope that Treek would stop, since he couldn't have picked a worse time for joking around. But the Treecko doesn't even realize what he is doing as he blindly continues talking. "And every time you're just like: I'm sorry. - Won't happen again. And a second later you..."

Treek's rant reaches a sudden end. And while I knew that he was just teasing, like he sometimes does, he really should have considered the time and place, as he now finds himself shrouded in the black shadows of the Dragonite towering over him.

"Cyder said: ~He's sorry~." The towering giant states while crunching his teeth and not looking even happy at all.

"Eep." Treek whimpers, as I quickly stand up and accidentally knock some of the berries of the platter.

"Calm down." I speak to the Dragon, who immediately follows my request and takes a step away from Treek.

"He was just kidding. - Right?" I continue explaining, now facing Treek.

"Erm." He starts babbling, only now fully grasping what danger he was in a moment ago. "Sure..." He continues while sending some frightened looks at the dragon.

"And you!" I continue speaking, now facing the dragon while Treek begins whining in fear. "Stop using Scary Face on him. He's my best friend and if you hurt him, you're hurting me just as well."

The dragon immediately stops growling and stares back at the ground, while Treek slowly stops shivering in the fear that he was induced with while beginning calming down.

"I'm sorry master." The dragon quickly states before turning around and heading for the door. And it doesn't take a second before he's nowhere to be seen as I once again feel bad for having the kind and pure hearted creature leave without me forgiving it.

I turn towards the Maril who had been paying some attention to her kids, before stopping to monitor what had happened between Treek and her Friend.

I sigh yet again and now facing the Maril continue speaking to her. "When he comes back, tell him that I'm not mad and that I appreciate what he was trying to do."

I give a hearty and partially forced laugh before looking back at the platter of berries to take another one off of it. And while taking a bite out of the juicy flesh, again having made sure that it was nobody's limb, I continue speaking to the Maril now paying her fullest attention to me. "I mean: there is a time and place for regret, but you shouldn't worry about doing something because you thought it was right, and then feel bad because it happened to have some consequences you couldn't have comprehended."

Now standing in front of the couch and looking back at Treek, Nina and the kids enjoying the gifts as their quantity quickly shrinks, I decide that it is time to take our leave.

I grab one of the last berries, another Oran, and turning towards the Maril again attending to her kids, I decide to bid her our farewells.

"I think it's time for us to leave. Because before you interrupted our progress, we were on a mission. And we've already lost enough time as it is, so we'd better get going now and use what remains of the day's light to make a bit more progress."

I look back at the group and see Cari taking the last of the berries while Nina meets my gaze by rolling her eyes once again, bidding me to have them stay here for just a little bit longer to enjoy being treated like royalty but not daring to speak up against me after witnessing what happened to Treek after he did so.

"Good luck with whatever it is that you have to do, Cyder." The Maril smiles back to me as I turn around to step outside after signaling the others to follow after me.


	59. Eyes Opened

I begin by taking a deep breath, filling my lungs with the fresh air that surrounds me and looking up at the thick canopy blocking out most of the sunlight and shrouding the hut in darkness, almost making it invisible to the naked eye of someone not knowing of its existence.

It is truly a great spot to hide from the government. With no public roads anywhere near, it might even be a better spot than the woods of Corasona where my den used to be hidden within. And even though it might not be the perfect spot to raise Water Elementals, they didn't have any of the blessings I was bestowed with during my time at the Eastern Mountain Range, which allowed me to build the den in Corasona.

Some time passes and all of us are back on a road heading away from Mount Vesopar, taking our time and not walking too fast as to not upset our freshly satisfied stomachs.

"So tell us." Nina breaks the silence. "Who were those ~Hidden Paradise~ 'mons that held the kids captive?"

We're still inside the forest and even thought I would have expected the canopy to start clearing up a bit to reveal the sun and the clouds flying above our heads, the sun is still being blocked by the old and strong looking trees towering about us, blocking out the heat and warmth of the day.

"Sure." I state, actually feeling quite happy about a distraction from the monotonous walking through the unchanging terrain. And after Treek sends me a quick glance, notifying me that he will be listening in on me as well, I finally begin the explanation.

"First off: everything I'm about to tell you I only heard second handedly. But I assume it's the truth, not only because it makes sense, but also because what we witnessed today confirmed those facts."

I take a deep breath and begin explaining. "The Hidden Paradise used to be an underground movement, fighting for everyone's freedom and against the oppression from the governments. It used to be present in all four nations and actually managed to have quite the influence on what was going on, successfully pulling of various heists, saving a lot of innocent lives in the process."

"Hang on a second." Nina interrupts me. "How come I never heard of them?"

I smile at her and roll my eyes just a tiny bit, as not to offend her. "Notice how I used to the words: ~used-to-be~"

"Anyways..." I continue, no longer facing her and instead looking the way we are walking. "All of this was a long time ago. Generations before any of us had ever felt the flame of life. - Well... except for me. - But someday the Hidden Paradise grew too big and became too big of a nuisance for their enemies to keep them around."

"So as they kept growing they started being less careful, allowing more and more spies to enter the ranks of their resistance. By that point they had established four huge and secretive headquarters, with one in each of the four nations. But nobody knows what happened to them in their hour of influence, because when the time came for them to use the resources they had collected and overthrow all the governments at once, they all vanished."

"There was no fight. There was no honor. All four of the headquarters they worked so long and hard for, had been wiped out in an instant. And nobody knew why, how or who the culprit was."

"But you know what happened, right?" Nina interrupts me yet again, sounding quite excited about what my response is going to be.

"No." I simply state. "There are no records about what happened to them. There are records about their actions. There are even records about the descendants who weren't at any of the headquarters at the time it happening."

"The only thing there can be no information found on is what exactly did happen. The structures they occupied still remained. The remains of the buildings they called their bases of operation can still be seen today. But nobody knows what happened to those that once inhabited them. And as far as the library is concerned about the matter: one moment there was a sprawling underground movement, bent on overthrowing the governments and with the resources to actually succeed. And the next moment there were four massive, hidden and abandoned complexes scattered over the world, with no one to look after them, use them or know about why they stood empty."

"Only those that weren't present lived to tell the tale to anyone willing to lend an ear. But while I can tell you that it's not just a tale and that it really did happen, I can tell you just as much about what it was that happened as anyone else. But as you just witnessed, even today there are a few still walking in the footsteps of their once oh so greatly successful ancestors, trying to do good wherever they can, freeing Cyndaquil cubs held captive by a Zorua, then demanding ransom to pay for their release."

"Wow." Nina states, fully fascinated by the story as I find myself smiling over having made a boring history lesson sound quite interesting.

"But that doesn't explain why they started referring to you as ~master~ once they figured out who you were."

"No, it doesn't. The reason for that lies in their origins. The reason why the Hidden Paradise originally came to be. Because like every group of 'mons fighting for a common cause, this one too had an original motive filled with pain, suffering and regret."

"From what I gathered about the time of my disappearance at the end of my past life, the world was still whole. There was no war and everyone was quite happy and content. But there were things I left behind. Powerful things you and everyone else came to know as Orbs. And there were those I thought were trustworthy. Those I put in charge to watch over my inheritance."

I change my voice to sound grim and fierce as I say the next sentence. "But they betrayed me."

After pausing for a moment to see Nina's reaction, I continue. "They used the knowledge I left behind to get filthy stinking rich, selling my secrets to whoever was paying the most. They lived quite the comfortable lives, dying of old age after having lived a glorious life in each of their respective mansions with not a single worry crossing their minds on a single day."

"But there was guilt. Because their careless actions put the world out of balance. Mighty powers arose. Powers that nobody could control and governments started to reform as 'mons stopped seeing the bigger picture. Borders were reestablished and our modern era begins after the ~new world~ as you came to know it was discovered down in the south."

Nina swallows visibly, but continues to listen to my history lesson.

"But wealth only lasts for so long. And only a few generations later, their descendants found themselves in crumbling palaces made of long gone pageantry and broken marble. Their reign was over and they were forced to go out into the world they created and turned a blind eye towards. They were forced to pay the real price for what their parents and parent's parents had done. Because they found themselves in a world just as broken as their homes. And for the first time, they felt the regret for their actions."

"They knew that it was their fault. And they felt sorry for turning the blind eye for all the generations they lived off of the spoils the sold the world for."

"But they managed to rediscover each other, even though they've never seen any of each other's faces and only ever heard their grandparents talk about the great deed they claimed to have done for the world. And so they pooled what little they had left in an attempt to repair their broken world. Trying to restore the glory it was meant to represent. And that is how the Hidden Paradise came to be."

I pause for a moment to take in the wow expression on Nina's face.

"Skip forward a couple of generations and you have the thriving underground resistance movement and the term ~Hidden Paradise~ with its ability to make even the fiercest of military commanders shudder when being spoken."

"But while skipping forward, you will also witness their inevitable end. An end that nobody can explain to this day."

"Yet there is one explanation, that not even I could oppose to when facing the facts. Those that got left behind still believe that it was I who put an end to them. And while it is true that I could have probably found a way to do that, I have no idea what may have compelled me to do so."

"The fact that I didn't even exist at the time put aside, the library is quite good at keeping someone from acting on their emotions, enforcing rational thoughts and preventing irrational actions. So if it was me, I must have successfully erased all records of it happening and there had to have been a really good reason for doing it."

"But because of the sudden end and with as few of them as there were remaining, they turned into this holder-worshipping cult, which is really weird when you're the holder. But just to give you an idea of how many of them might be left, today was the first time Treek and I ever met any of them."

I finish my talk and even though I feel quite confident about having told it in the best manner I could have possibly told it in, it leaves me in a worse mood than I had to begin with.

"Thanks." Nina states, not really knowing what else to say after listening to the Hidden Paradise's lore.

But while she is happy, one question remains in my head. One question I keep on wondering about. 'What did I do in my past life? What was it that I can't remember?'

I'm not wondering about the cryptic meanings of the library being in danger. I'm not wonder about whether or not the Maril or the Dragonite will tell anyone about having met me. No. I'm wondering about the past and the future.

'How will things go on?" I keep wondering to myself while we silently continue to walk. "With Corasona gone, I won't be able to keep my promise of raising the kids there.'

I don't even notice how Treek, Nina and the kids keep looking at me, probably having realized that something is bothering me and wondering what it is. But I notice none of it, as I continue to keep a steady pace, somethings leading the group myself while at other times heading after Treek who is paying much more attention to where we are going than I am.

'I'm sorry Lydia.' I sob in my mind from time to time while I manage to keep my ember mostly unaffected by the grief. 'Corasona is gone and there is no going back. I'm sure you would have understood.'

I sigh and continue to wonder. 'Just how are things supposed to go on like this? Treek's parents will surely take us in, but we can't ask them to risk their lives and let us stay there forever.'

The sighs continue to escape my throat and the thoughts continue to ponder my mind. 'What if Laizisso isn't the save haven we're expecting to find. What if it has fallen while Treek was gone?'

"Cyder?" Treek tries to grab my attention, but I don't notice the attempt.

'What if they somehow managed to find out where we were headed? What if when we get there, it's all just a giant trap?'

"Cyder!" Treek tries again but his words continue to bounce off of me without begin understood.

'And even if everything goes well and we do find the safe haven we're hoping for, some random Quilava just showing up out of nowhere, together with two kids and a dark type is sure to raise a few eyebrows here and there, now that the idea of my existence is freshly back on everyone's mind. And then they'll find me again and everything ends with me just barely making it out of there, leaving behind even more souls sacrificing themselves for me, only to have them plague my conscience for the rest of eternity.'

"CYDER!" Treek shouts right into my ear and I finally realize that he had been trying to gain my attention for quite some time now.

"Oh wow." I respond, shaking my head and trying to get my bearings. "Yeah?"

"You seem really zoned out." He begins in a concerned tone. "So why don't you tell me what it is that bothers you."

While still walking, I look past him to notice Cari yet again riding on Nina's back while Tolan trots alongside her, which all three of them looking at me worriedly.

"I'm fine." I try to reassure them. "It's just... I can't shake the feeling that what we're doing is wrong. That all of this is just a big mistake. When I disbanded the team, I thought things were going to calm down and I was given the opportunity of living a normal life."

I turn away from them and sigh, but still decide to continue talking as to not make them worry too much. Even though me telling them about my worries is probably not going to help with that.

"What are we going to do when we reach Laizisso?" I restate my previous thought. "And even putting that aside: I still don't know anything new about the danger that the library is in."

"Yeah, what about that?" Treek states as he stops walking and begins blocking the way. "What exactly is this danger the library is in?"

I quickly remember that I hadn't told Treek everything I learned. And with the constant distractions that had plagued the last two days since it happened, I never found the time or will to explain.

"It's complicated, but there is something wrong with the library. And I think it has to do with why you suddenly remembered what we saw that night when we found my new hat."

Deciding to leave out the part at which I must have time travelled back to the abandoned shed, I decide to move on with my worries.

"And I thought about this for quite a while, pondering the eventualities and wondering about what could be the cause. And while I have no idea about what that cause might be, I did actually manage to reach a conclusion that would explain everything."

With everything that I saw Nina go through up until this point, I feel quite comfortable to have her listen in on what I have to say as the conclusion I reached would allow me to tell Treek. And so I begin revealing what I have deduced so far.

"First of: I'm almost positive that we were in the library that night we got my new hat."

Treek's jaw falls open, and although I knew he's in no state to interrupt me, I still feel compelled to scold him.

"Now don't interrupt me." I continue. "But that's not the part that bothers me most. At least not any more since I think to have figured out what it all means."

"See: when I had those seizures, I had a vision where I was told that the library was in danger. And just before then I had a vision of how I was back in that storage building, seeing myself and you walk around before I established eye contact with myself and suddenly remembered all about that shadow. Just as you remember me telling you about it as well..."

"But what I think it all means is: someone is tinkering with something they know nothing about. Something managed to get ahold of knowledge they shouldn't have even known to exist."

"There is a creature out there trying to get into the library without my permission or my control. And in their attempts, that somebody has broken things not even I could describe. And I really hope that I'm wrong, but you know the rules just as well as I do. Because the problem is that as long as I don't stop worrying, I won't be able to access the library and convince myself that all the worrying is unnecessary."

"Wow." Treek simply responds, surprisingly fast having regained the ability to speak. "But I mean: you're the expert on this, so if you say that there is something wrong with the library, I can't oppose to that."

Nina, being quite pleased with the fact that I allowed her to listen in decides to add her own thoughts, despite her knowing even less about the library than Treek.

"But I thought that was impossible." She blatantly states. "I mean that's why we were always trying to get you. So you can help us get the upper hand."

"It is." I respond to her. "Whoever or whatever is doing this, is definitely not military. Because they would have stopped hunting me a long time ago if they thought something like this was possible. But as you just said: it is impossible. I'm quite confident that the library will close its gates to anyone and forever, before it will allow whatever it is that is causing this to enter without my permission."

I sigh, as the thought makes me truly afraid, but still decide to state it. "My purpose isn't just to access the library and find out about the secrets of technology. It's my mission to preserve the library."

"But it's really much more complicated than that." I continue explaining. "Because you can't think of this as trying to keep the dust of some books. No. - I have to protect it from threats just like this, but the problem is that whatever happened to me during the last moments of my past life erased all my memories. And so I have no idea on where I could even start."

I sigh again, and while not looking at Nina I continue to walk, hoping that my path would lead me somewhere meaningful.

"I see." Nina states after a few more moments have passed.

"I guess that is something quite bothersome." Treek finally responds. "And I don't want to sound like a broken record, but I still think that our best bet is to get to Laizisso. You said it yourself: all you need is some peace and quiet and you'll be able to figure out if what you think is really what is happening."

"I never said that we shouldn't go there." I respond while taking my eyes off the path and noticing that the voice had been coming from in front of me.

Come time has passed and we continued walking while Treek has taken the lead again. And looking around, I can see that we managed leave the thick forest and are traversing the bare and dry grounds of the neighboring dead lands bordering the forest around Mount Vesopar.

'It won't be much longer until we arrive at Laizisso.' I feel a tiny speck of confidence fly through me. 'If I'm correct, then our goal is less than a day's distance away, assuming we can continue traveling at our current pace.'

I look back and can still see parts of the forest vanishing in the distance, while Tolan, Nina and Cari riding the black haired fox give me a hearty slime, filling me with just a tiny bit more of the confidence that I so desperately am in need of.


	60. Firebathing

We've been traversing the desert of dry dirt for quite a while now. The ground is cracked and despite the rain I had to witness yesterday not too far from here, it really seems kind of odd how such a barren region is possible when bordering the lush and overgrown forests surrounding Mount Vesopar.

Not counting Treek, no plant life can be seen as far as the eye reaches, but while the scorching sun shining down upon us might bother Treek, it really helps to cheer me up and manages to distract me from my worries.

While looking at the ground from time to time, before simply returning to enjoying the sunlight, nobody speaks a word and we continue to track through the barren lands, with not a single interesting landmark breaking up the horizon as everything is shaded the bright brown of the dead ground.

I decide to take another look at my surrounding, see where the sun is and how much time is left before it would be getting too dark to continue onwards.

The sky has already started losing some of its bright blue hue, and looking the way we are heading, I can see the sun beginning to touch the horizon, stretching the shadows we are forced to carry behind us longer and longer with every passing second.

"Daddy?" Tolan suddenly and unexpectedly interrupts the silence surrounding us, as his words reach my ears without any echoes resonating from the ground, making his voice appear just as dry as all that surrounds us.

"What is it." I respond, a smile passing over my face while I turn to find him walking at my side.

"I was... It was really scary when you were gone." He starts talking, not sure how to put the words while I immediately understand what he is trying to say.

Looking past him, I can see Cari jumping of off Nina and joining her brother. And while Treek continues to lead the group as she arrives at Tolan's side, I decide to respond to them.

"It was scary for me, too." I begin, not really sure as to how I should put my words either. "I don't know what I would have done if it had ended differently. So believe me, I'm just as glad as both of you that I got you back safe and sound."

The smile I had forced myself to wear when starting to talk no longer feels as forced as before and as I as its sincerity infects Tolan and Cari, I can see them smiling back at me.

No words are exchanged while we continue to head after Treek with neither I nor either of my kids wanting to be the first to break eye contact.

I don't know if Treek was watching, or if he still is, because right now there is only one thing most important to me, which is wanting to share this moment with the kids.

The moment last for a little while longer, before I'm distracted by a stray tear forming in my right eye. I don't know how it managed to leak out in such a moment of joy and care, but not wanting anyone to think that I might be sad, which I'm really not, I'm forced to look away and wipe my eye before someone could have noticed.

Treek isn't watching us and shields his eyes as he continues to head towards the setting sun. But while I'm grateful for the privacy he lets me share with the kids, I don't feel content to break the mood.

So looking back at Tolan and Cari, I catch them just before they would have turned away to return to Nina still heading after me and keeping a small distance while failing to hide her own hearty smile from me.

"Tell you what." I decide to pick up the conversation as I drop down on all fours. "If you promise to never disappear like that again, I'll let you ride on my back for the rest of the day."

It wasn't really meant as a threat, as I know that it wasn't the fault of either of them, but they seem to understand and immediately follow up on my invitation before I turn back the way we are heading before stopping to walk for a second.

First, I feel a single paw, pressing up against my side while the warmth of the touch instantly manages to soothe me. I don't know if it is Tolan or Cari who is the first to climb the mountain that is their father, and there is no reason why it should matter. But the first connection I am allowed to share with the most important thing in the world isn't meant to stay just that.

The moment felt like an eternity of bliss, but even after is passed I begin to feel more paws alongside a decent amount of movement as the kids get comfortable on top of me.

When we were running through Kossary only Tolan was riding on my back, something that is quite easily done. But with both of the kids having to share the space, they are bound to run out of room before finding a position comfortable for both of them.

Treek has noticed the hold-up and has stopped and turned back face me, while the glaring sunlight envelops him from behind but still allows me to notice a wide smile covering his face as he nods at me, wanting to tell me that everything is going to be fine from now on.

After the movements on my back stop, I look at my side to see Nina having caught up to us. And looking past Treek the way we are heading I begin speaking.

"Are you all set?" I ask the kids, not wanting to start walking while there is still a chance that either of them might fall off.

"Yup." Is the first respond I get, spoken by Tolan's voice. "As long as you don't start running, we'll be fine." Cari adds her own response to the question.

I feel a bit more movement, as it almost feels like someone is petting me. But it wouldn't be too odd if that really was the case, and not wanting to keep us from the reaching the day's goal, being to get as far as we can manage to get before it would be too dark to safely traverse the cracked ground without breaking a leg, I find myself leading the ground once again after many hours of having kept my head low while heading after Treek.

'Things will be different now on.' I start thinking to myself. 'Not everything has changed, and while I may have lost my home and felt what it would have been like if I had lost all that I managed to save, there are still the things that nobody has managed to take away from me.'

I close my eyes for a moment, ignoring the risk of getting a foot stuck in one of the crevices lining the ground, simply to feel for the presence of those derived from my own flesh and blood.

My silent call is returned and the signals of their presence cannot be misinterpreted, as I imagine being able to feel their embers burning brightly out of pure joy. With the cleanest flame imaginable and not a single anomaly interrupting the bright light.

The fires are stead, uninterrupted, but not motionless. They are alive and I feel their vivid tempers pulsating through my skin as there is no way the flames could be any closer to truly being a part of me, both mentally and physically.

I open my eyes again to quickly check the ground for any upcoming cracks that I might have to be aware of. But with only small splits covering the immediate ground ahead, I feel comfortable to fall back into the world of imagination, to find the fires just as I had left them a moment ago. Burning just as brightly while simply being happy about me being there, while I am just as happy that I can share my existence with them.

The fires are happy and so am I, as my own flame approaches them once again. I grow just as bright as they burn, and as our flames merge I feel their presence, the heartbeat of my kids. I feel their essence of life being there and they can feel mine. I know that they are alive for me, and they know that I am alive for them as our heartbeats synchronize and begin to pound as one.

"Cyder!" Nina suddenly shouts and rips me out of the beautiful world of mental connection.

"Shht!" Treek interrupts her, but not before I open my eyes to make sure that I hadn't missed any big upcoming crevices, or might have even accidentally walked off a cliff.

But with the upcoming terrain posing no imminent danger and me still standing on solid ground, I turn to my side to see Nina looking at me in shock while Treek holds her back and prevents her from jumping at me.

"What?" I start wondering out loudly, as I don't understand the cause of her commotion.

"It's OK, Nina." Treek responds to her before turning towards me. "She was just concerned for Tolan and Cari."

"Why?" I ask anew before Treek turns back to Nina.

I stopped walking the moment Nina shouted out and while I still feel the presence of the two embers on top of me, the connection has reverted back to only rely on my basic nerves telling me about the pressure that is weighing down my back.

"It might seem weird, but it isn't something dangerous." Treek begins to explain while I listen in on what he is talking about, hoping to find out what it is that got Nina all worked up.

The sun has already fallen behind the horizon and our shadows are as long as they could possibly get before the last rays would disappear and the night can be considered to officially have started.

"But he was scorching the kids!" Nina retorts, as it hits me what must have happened.

So I do my best to look behind me, hoping to take a look at the kids.

Tolan is the first to come into view and after noticing me, Cari stretches her neck towards me as well.

"Was I firebathing you?" I ask, smiling as it would explain why my imagination felt so vivid before Nina interrupted me out of concern about ~scorching the kids~.

"You were." Tolan explains, before Cari lets her arms hang over my side and kisses me on the neck while proclaiming her affiliation to me.

"I love you too." I tell both of them, wearing the truest and sincerest smile I ever remember wearing, before I turn back to Treek explaining Nina what firebathing is.

"Believe me, it's not something you want to have happening to you unless you're a Fire Type yourself. But you can think of it as a form of hugging."

Nina is speechless and takes another look at me. The flames on back must have already vanished the moment she ripped me out of my day-dreams, leaving her to simply listen to Treek's explanation while being just as baffled as before.

"It's not a form of fire that can damage another Fire Type, no matter if they're resistant to fire or not. But from what I understand, they can merge their embers to feel each other's emotions and thoughts."

I don't feel like Treek is really putting it into the proper context, as I decide to step in and try to explain what it feels like myself. And still smiling over the confusion, I begin talking.

"It's not emotions and thoughts. It's about feeling each other's existence." I begin, before pausing for a moment to think about how I could explain it a little bit better. "If you look at me, you can see me standing in front of you, but can you truly say that it is me? That I am the spirit that has always inhabited this body? - You can't. You can only look at me to see the vessel that carries my fire."

I turn back to take another smiling look at my kids before continuing to explain. "The term ~firebathing~ really doesn't give it the credit it deserves. Probably because it was designated by a non-Fire Type only describing what it looks like from an outsider's point of view. But the connection I just shared with Tolan and Cari goes way beyond a simple touch or look."

"Instead of a physical connection like one that would result from hugging someone, it is a connection of the souls. So when firebathing, you make a connection of the soul, much less that one of the flesh. But don't think of it as a merging of spirits. Too many 'mons make the mistake of thinking that."

"Comparing it to a hug is probably the best metaphor, but it happens of a much deeper level." Although I feel like I explained everything important at this point, there are still a few points I feel the need to addressing. And so I continue explaining.

"It isn't something you can force a Fire Elemental to engage in. It isn't even something you can force yourself to do. It can only happen if there is absolutely no doubt in your heart about the purity of another soul. And if your ember decides to attempt bonding in such a way, it means that you have a very strong connection with the recipient."

I finally finish my explanation and looking away from Nina, I see that nothing remains of the sun, with the only light still casting shadows on the ground being a flame summoned by an overzealous Tolan trying to show off his skills.

Although still confused about what she just witnessed, Nina no longer appears concerned about the act itself, but rather over the existence of such a thing.

'She must have never heard of it before.' I think to myself, before Treek interrupts the silence by stepping into the light of Tolan's flickering flame, throwing its light on us and the terrain.

"We should make camp here for the night." He begins. "Traversing the dead lands in the dark is way too dangerous. Not just because you could get stuck on the ground, but also because it's way too easy to get disoriented without the sun leading the way."

I simply respond by nodding, before letting my eyes wander, only to find them focus on the bag of supplies that Treek is still holding. And while readjusting my hat, I turn back one last time to ask Tolan and Cari to step off, before getting comfortable myself while awaiting the dinner about to be served.


	61. Shooting Star

Although noticing my glance at his bag, Treek was already in the process of performing the implicit task of distributing food associated with having designated our resting spot.

And as I get handed a juicy looking Oran berry, just the way I like them, I find my mind wandering after only having taken a single bite.

Due to it being as barren as it is, the dead lands are a fairly safe place to spend the night out in the open in. For some reason rain never falls here, something that might seem quite strange at first glance, and really is an oddity when looked at more closely. But the weather here is simply a stochastic wonder, as every rain cloud that ever dares to enter the region will get blown away by winds.

Wind usually arrives from the north and east, where it hits the huge mountains that Mount Vesopar is the highest of. The mountains then redirect the air current to blow over the region at high altitudes, where it collides with the rain clouds and pushes them down south.

That explanation might seem pretty reasonable at first, and while the 'mons living near the northern end of the dead lands have yet to understand the logic behind the air currents, the thing that really doesn't make any sense is that this wind isn't always there.

I take another bite from the juicy fruit and immediately find my mind continuing to wonder about a possible explanation.

If it wasn't for the wind always conveniently appearing whenever there is a rain cloud to get rid of, this place would probably be fairly lush. And as one can already tell from all the dirt covering the ground, the dead lands weren't always as dead as they are now.

Something must have changed in the weather system, that caused the winds to start appearing, but since the ancients never encountered something similar to this, the library has no explanation for this strange phenomenon.

But as always when something unexplainable happens, other 'mons always explain it by simply stating ~a legendary did it~.

I smile while I try to take another bite from the fruit, only to find myself chewing on empty air before realizing that I already ate all of it. But looking in front of me, I find two more of the sweet berries just waiting for me to grab them and enjoy their aroma.

I pick up my second fruit and decide that there are better things to do than dwell over nonsensical questions that I'm just too lazy to find out the true answer about.

After looking at it in my paw, rotation it to check its every side, I finally take a bite out of the Oran and begin wondering again.

It isn't like I couldn't find out what the true reason is. Every bit of knowledge that the library could potentially be missing is filed as soon as it becomes public knowledge.

It is a fairly complicated process, but also the reason why there are records and information about things that happened after the ancients had vanished. But the way the library collects that information is by retrieving it from the sentient beings willing to share it with others.

It is not an intrusive process and something that will only happen over time. Meaning that things being kept a secret will not be available until someone is willing to make said secret public knowledge.

Taking another bite out of the fruit, I notice that the surroundings are shrouded in darkness. Tolan must be too exhausted to keep the candle alive that had previously been lighting up the area. And seeing how my left paw doesn't have anything to do while my right one is holding the berry, I relieve him and summon a flame myself.

There are a few things that the library doesn't know. Like the strange case of the Hidden Paradise, or less importantly: the mysterious weather conditions that lead the dead lands to become barren.

I sigh for a moment, causing Treek to look up out of concern, wanting to make sure that I'm all right. And after returning to the smile I had been wearing since firebathing the kids, he returns back to his meal while I return to mine alongside my thoughts.

Of course it would be great to learn what is wrong with the library the next time I get there, it's pretty unlikely that I'm going to get my answer then. Because even if it is a sentient being that is representing the danger, there is no way that it isn't being done in secret, thus making it impossible for the library to know.

But I should be able to get some sort of hint once I'm there. Yet on a different note, nobody but me knows how the library actually works. Something that is quite to my advantage, because since the military has yet to try and catch me in secrecy, I was always able to evade them by knowing where they were going to be next.

I had just gotten too careless when they actually found me in Corasona. I hadn't checked up on their state for about a year by that point, always thinking back to how Lydia and I convinced each other that nobody would ever find us at the northern most tip of the continent.

"Hey Cyder." Treek rips me out of my thoughts, something I'm quite happy about as I was starting to get sick of just wondering without any point to my thoughts.

"Yup!" I respond, quite up-beat and planning to lead the conversation.

"You seemed kind of distracted." Treek responds. "Are you wondering about tomorrow again?"

Knowing that I can't very well tell him, or anyone that I was just thinking about the best kept secret in all of history, I quickly and casually lie as I so often practiced to do if someone would ask me about it.

"Yeah." I answer. "That'll be the end to quite the journey. - Not that I'm trying to say that I enjoyed the way it all went down. - No no no no. But I think I'm finally starting to accept the idea of reaching a safe haven for me and the kids."

I pause for a second and simply smile, as I find myself to only having lied about the fact that I wasn't really thinking about that. "Since it's your hometown, you can just tell everyone the usual story of how you met that rich business-Quilava named ~Quill~ at the Eastern Mountain Range, before you befriended him. So just tell them that..."

I pause for a moment, to think for a simple, yet believable reason for me visiting him before I quickly find one and state it. "Just tell them that you invited me to visit Laizisso for a vacation I'm taking."

Treek laughs a bit before responding with a "yup", after which I turn towards the kids to make sure they understand as well.

"You two got that?" I ask them, before turning to face Nina as I realize that she has to stick to the story as well. "And you too, Nina?"

All them have already finished their meals and had started getting comfortable for the night. But none of them had already fallen asleep, resulting in three individual conformations of understanding the story from each of them.

"Good." I simply state, turning back and noticing how I still had one berry left. And not wanting to waste it, I smile at Treek one more time before jamming my mouth shut by stuffing the entire fruit in at once.

It takes some time before I can finally breath through something other than my nostrils, but after a while the big chunk of juicy means begins to shrink as I no longer feel the need to keep the fire providing us light still alive.

I form a fist in my left paw, causing the flame to die, and continue by lying myself on the ground, getting into a comfortable position before rolling up on my back and looking up at the sky until the sleep already having grabbed ahold of those surrounding me would encompass me as well.

Millions of stars sparkle back at me, and I see them shining their glistening flames on each other and on me, growing and shrinking as their lights get distorted by my strained eyes.

'Enough looking at stuff for today.' I finally think to myself, before deciding to close them, only to open them immediately after as one of the flecks of light grabs my attention.

A beautiful blue, shimmering light pulsates, sending a shiver though my spine as the sight looks astonishing. It is a shooting start, flying through the sky and lighting the world with its weak flame before it will no doubt burst into a million pieces as the friction of the atmosphere will cause it to break before missing its target.

An old saying goes that you should wish upon a falling star. Something that seems kind of odd, as there is no way it could grad, or even comprehend you wish as a shooting star is neither sentient nor telepathic.

'I wish upon tomorrow.' I begin wishing, ignoring the senselessness of doing so. 'I wish that tomorrow the journey will end. I wish that no more dangers lie ahead and that Laizisso is nothing but the safe haven it has always been.'

I know that the star will not grant my wish, and I failed to consider the fact that stating the wish would only put doubt in my mind. But to my luck, or rather dismay, I suddenly find myself with a completely different fear.

The star, shooting or not has become a meteor. And while its trajectory hasn't changed it all, it is still headed directly for us.

'There is no way that thing could hit us.' I try to reassure myself. 'What kind of cause of death would that be?'

But while sit up and rub my eyes to make sure that I'm seeing correctly, the image stays the same and the shimmering blue rock continues to fall from the sky, heading towards us.

Some time passes while I continue to follow it through the sky, but upon closer inspection I feel like I can relax again, as it doesn't seem to actually be headed directly for us.

'It for some reason it won't burn up, it still shouldn't hit any of us.'

But while I managed to convince myself that no chunk of space rock will cause us any harm, the sight of the stone burning continues to confuse me.

'Why the blue hue?' I wonder, before quickly thinking that I should probably wake Treek. Because even though he might not be too happy with being awoken, this isn't something you can see every day either.

"Treek." I whisper after having identified his body in the weak light provided by the stars as the moon has yet to appear in the sky.

"Treek." I try again, carefully rubbing his shoulder to get his attention. "Wake up."

"Urgh..." I get as a response by an obviously unhappy Treek. "Why are you..." He tries to question me, before I interrupt him.

"Take a look at that." I simply state while pointing towards the meteorite.

"Wow." Treek simply responds, still half asleep while rubbing his eyes as I turn back towards the rock to monitor its progress.

"What do you think it is?" I get questioned a few moments later.

"It's a meteor." I respond, finding the question quite odd and not having thought about any deeper meaning.

"No." Treek starts bickering. "You think that thing poses a risk?"

"I don't think so." I respond. "If it really does hit the ground, it won't be on top of us. - But you know what's really weird about this?"

Not waiting for an answer, I simply state it myself. "An asteroid that small should have easily burned up in the atmosphere before ever getting this close."

"Uhu." Treek states, not understanding the laws of physics behind such a phenomenon while the blue light of the meteor begins lighting up the ground surrounding us.

"It's definitely going to hit." I state, no longer whispering and knowing that even though we're not in danger of standing in the way of the rock, there is still the risk from not having prepared for the quite possibly ear shattering sound at impact.

"Everyone!" I shout, only getting weak movements from the other three bodies now lit up the blue flame of the star literally being about to hit the ground.

"Cover your ears!" I shout again as the air starts to vibrate from the humming noise. And looking up, I can see the meteor now passing directly overhead of us, enveloping the area in its bright, blue light. And even though the fire doesn't seem right to me, I find myself thinking that the blue hue is probably just a byproduct from what the thing is made out of off.

While continuing to follow the rock with my eyes, I finally do as I already told every else to do and cover my own ears.

\- Thump -

The noise is muffled, but still audible and the bright blue light shrinks almost instantly down into a lump not bigger than a pillow.

'Great comparison.' I think to myself, probably only finding it humorous due to the time of day. 'Comparing a meteor to a pillow.'

I let go of my ears, allowing them spring back up, only to instantly notice the humming noise only slowly subsiding.

"Oh wow!" I can't help myself from stating out loudly. "You don't see that every day."

Just as surprised about what a rare phenomenon we just witnessed, Treek turns towards me and begins talking while the humming noise subsides.

"You want to check that out?"


	62. Return To Sender

"Of course I want to." I blatantly state without thinking about my words while the brilliant blue light has already shrunken into a dying ember.

"This is a one-in-a-lifetime occurrence, and even though it's just going to be a rock, it still would be a waste not to look at." I quickly explain myself, as I find my straight-forward attitude untypical of myself.

'You should better get some sleep, or this'll be the new you.' The voice of reason makes itself heard in my head. 'You don't want to make any rash decisions.'

'You're right, Cyder.' I answer myself, feeling like the roles have reversed with it usually being the real me that has to prevent my ember from making mistakes like these.

"You know Treek." I state, having decided to listen to myself after considering the danger the stone could pose by scorching any of us if we're not careful. "We should probably wait until tomorrow morning."

After just having changed my mind like that, I should have expected to hit some resistance, as it is Cari that opposes me first.

"Aw, come on!" She practically shouts at me with disappointment. "I want to see the star."

"It's not a star. It's a rock..." I try to correct her, but get interrupted by Tolan joining in to oppose me.

"Please, Daddy?" He asks me with big and round eyes.

"No." I continue to state as a response while Nina doesn't seem to be willing to listen to me. "It's too dangerous right now and it could burn us. And it won't run away if we let it cool down over the night. We'll check it out first thing in the morning. - Promise."

While Tolan and Cari seem willing to accept my terms, Nina continues to be resilient.

"But you said yourself that it's just be a regular old rock and that it'll have cooled down by tomorrow. - I want to see it while it's still hot!"

"Nina..." Treek decides to help me stay in charge. "Cyder's our resident Fire Type, and if he says that it could harm us, we should probably listen to him and stay away from it."

Instead of nodding or answering, Nina simply lies herself back down while facing away from both me and the now barely glowing rock lying less than half a kilometer away from us.

"Let's just try to get some sleep, OK?" I ask of them. "It's been quite a day and I'm sure our bodies can use the rest."

I watch as Tolan and Cari lie themselves back on the ground and get comfortable, while Treek looks back at the sky.

"Are there more coming?" I hastily ask, scolding myself mentally for asking such a stupid question while I looking up and checking for myself.

"No." He responds and after confirming the statement myself by look up at the stars, I decide to do as I said and finally get some rest as well.

'This whole thing was just...' I start wondering, forcing myself to keep my eyes closed while lying on my side. 'Just stupid. Why would there be a meteor crashing right next to us. I mean...'

I interrupt my own thoughts with a mental yawn, probably sent by some part of me that wants me to stop thinking about it. But after ignoring its plea, I continue to wander. 'I mean it is possible, but just so ridiculously unlikely.'

Another mental yawn finally manages to stop me from thinking any more coherent sentences. And with incoherent, single words, such as ~shooting star~ or ~library~ still passing through my mind, I finally fall asleep after just having lived through one of the longest days of my life.

-

To my surprise, I'm the first to wake up the next morning. The sun has already fully arisen from behind the horizon and as I open my eyes, I find myself covered with dirt and dust, but it doesn't bother me as I happily and contently start the day with nothing but determination on my mind.

'Oh boy.' Is the first think I can think of, as I remember the meteorite impact from last night. But seeing how I'm well rested and full of energy again, I find myself just sitting and staring at the ground, passing my eyes from Tolan peacefully snoozing away while resting his head on his paws, to Cari contently sleeping on her side with her mouth open, before drifting my eyes to Treek sleeping on his back while stretching out his arms.

The cycle continues for a while, before I realize that something is missing.

'Nina!' I shout to myself mentally. 'Where's Nina?'

I stare at the spot I remember her lying down at last night, but while I can see the scratches that her lying there must have caused to the dirt, I fail to find the body that is responsible.

"Nina!" I shout out loudly after standing up, fully knowing that my shouting would wake everyone, but being willing to pay the price of a grudgy Treek being annoyed because he didn't get to wake up on his own.

But while the three other bodies start moving as a response to my cry, I don't get any audible answers spoken by the voice of the young, black-haired fox.

"What's wrong?" Treek groans while rubbing his eyes. But I answer his question by shouting the Zorua's name once again.

"NINA!" I shout as loud as my mouth manages to voice itself. But while the ground absorbs most of my shouting, nothing in my perception of the terrain changes and no audible responses can be perceived.

"Treek." I quickly try a new approach, hoping that he might know anything about Nina's whereabouts. "Do you have any idea where she might be?"

"Not a single." He states, still rubbing his eyes. "She didn't say anything to me, but..."

Treek's ~but~ has grabbed my attention and I turn towards him as he continues after taking his paws of his face. "She did say that she really wanted to see the meteor while it's still hot..."

"No." I interrupt him, not wanting to consider her heading out into the night on her own. "If she went out there without anyone to accompany her, who knows where she could be by now."

"Oh Arceues..." I continue to worry. "She could have falling into a crevice, unconscious and dying. Or..."

But luckily I get interrupted back by Treek as he does the logical.

"Looking at these tracks..." He begins while pointing at the scratch lining the ground around our camp. "I think she really did go to the meteor, so we should be able to just follow them to find her."

"Then let's get after her." I force everyone to get a move on, while Tolan is only now pushing himself up from the ground. Cari had immediately jumped up as soon as it became obvious that her friend was missing. But she seems way too distracted by the fact to send her brother an angry stare for not caring more.

We set off immediately, following Treek as he reads the tracks that Nina left behind in the barren chunks of broken dirt, while Cari doesn't waste the chance to look in every crevice big enough for her to put a paw in.

Our journey, shot as it is, truly does appear to lead towards where the meteor has landed. And looking into the distance, I can see a small crater that must have resulted from its impact.

But with my attention fully focused on finding Nina, I do as Cari and look around in the crevices while Treek does his best to read the tracks the fox had left for us to follow.

"There is only one track." He states after the crater's rim is only a few dozen meters away while still not allowing us to take a look at the space rock. "So wherever she is, she couldn't have come back the same way."

Cari quickly glances at him angrily, as if wanting to say ~thanks for stating the obvious~. But the more we continue to follow Treek, the more it starts getting obvious that Nina could have potentially reached her destination, only to get herself hurt by carelessly approaching the cooling ball of fire.

Yet just as we are about to take a look inside the crater, Treek stops for no apparent reason, causing Cari to run up to him while I step up behind her.

'No!' I think to myself, realizing what it is that I'm looking at. "How is this possible?"

"Nina!" Cari shouts as she attempts to dash off, before I barely manage to grab her before she would have escaped by reach.

She tries to struggle, wanting to get free of my grasp, but what she doesn't understand are the implications of what it is that we are witnessing. Because while I don't have to tell Tolan not to get near, and Treek is still bewilderedly staring into the small crater, I fully understand Cari's of wanting to rescue Nina.

Nina is indeed in the crater, and from the looks of it she appears to be just fine. At least physically, as so many pieces of what has happened start falling into place.

Nina is frozen in time. Frozen by what it is that really fell from the sky. And there is nothing in the picture that I haven't seen before as I know the meaning of all of it.

It wasn't a rock that feel from the sky. It wasn't any stone at all. It was something 'mon-made. Something I held quite dearly and close to my heart, only to have it get lost under the strangest of circumstances imaginable.

"My bag." I state bewilderedly, as I continue to prevent a struggling Cari from escaping. What I'm looking at is Nina carefully stretching out her paw to touch my old adventuring bag, just as I remember it being before I lost it in the storage building and saw it again in my vision.

But there is a reason why I know what it is that keeps Nina in place. Why I know that she is stuck in time.

Because my bag is as well. I should have the blue hue the shooting star was carrying. I should have realized that it was the same blue flame I saw on top of my bag when I had the vision during which I saw it the last time. With the same blue, frozen and unnatural tongue of fire it had then.

Because it is just as it was in that vision. A blue flame covering it, frozen in time and not emitting any warmth, while almost feeling like it is absorbing the heat from its surroundings.

"Nina!" Cari shouts again as she continues struggling to get away from me.

"Cari." I try to get to stop, wanting to remind her of how I barely rescued her the last time she went after Nina. When she almost revealed our presence to the Munchlax back at the storage building. But there is no time and even if there was, Cari doesn't seem to want to listen to me.

The blue flame has fully encompassed Nina, who doesn't appear to be aware of any of it happening. But I know that there is no way for her to escape from it. And I finally begin to understand that it is the library which has done this.

'It was the library that had Treek and me accidentally enter it. It was the library that had me have that vision where I saw myself. And it was the library that let my bag fall from the sky.'

'I understand now what the danger is that the library is in.' I finally come to realize the conclusion.

"NINA!" Cari shouts from the deepest depths of her lungs as she continues to wiggle her way to freedom. And despite my best efforts to keep her at bay, hoping to solve the problem with rational thoughts, I have to watch as she jumps out of my arms and dashes towards Nina in an attempt to safe her.

"CARI!" I shout after her. "Don't!"

But to no avail as the young Cyndaquil continues to dash towards the fox and the bag.

Instincts take over and I drop down to all fours and not a moment later find myself running after her, attempting to catch up before she would get stuck in time as well.

I have completely lost track of the bag and the danger it might pose to me just as it does to everyone else. But to my luck, I finally manage to catch up with Cari, just before it is too late.

I jump on her, holding her to the ground and preventing her from moving anymore.

"We can't touch her." I shout at her in desperation, both happy that I managed to stop her before it would have been too late, and angry that she didn't listen to me before.

"The blue flame would have us get stuck in time, just like it got Nina stuck."

Cari doesn't respond to my claim and I start to get worried again, as her eyes blankly stare right through my head alongside a bland and emotionless appearing as if in the process of switching between being angry and regretting one's actions. Yet she doesn't move a single muscle as she continues to lie on the ground. - Not even when I eventually let go of her.

'No...' Is the only thing I can think of, as I turn around to see Treek staring at me while making sure that Tolan doesn't do as his sister, even though he isn't making any attempts in doing so.

"Cyder?" Treek asks worryingly as he stares at me.

"I'm..." I begin to babble. "I'm fine. I don't think it affects me..."

"Cyder?" Treek asks again, as if he hadn't heard what I just said.

"Where's daddy?" Tolan asks worriedly while both him and Treek search through the crater.

"I'm right here." I state laughingly, as if hoping that it was all just a bad joke. "Stop being ridiculous."

"Tolan." Treek begins to speak, while I decide to walk up to him, possibly slapping some sense into him if I have to.

"Tolan, I have no idea what just happened." Treek starts exclaiming, now facing my son. "But for the love of Arceues, don't go touch anything."

"Dude!" I shout out, waving my arms in front of him. "I'm right here. – So stop being ridiculous."

I stretch my paws, only to find it passing straight through Treek's body. No even producing any effects or leaving behind goo like a Ghost Type would produce in a situation like this.

"Wargh!" I shout out as I realize that they can't see me and that I can't interact with them. "What the... what is going on?"

I look back at the bag, but while I still see the item with both Nina and Cari being stuck in time, I don't see myself, nor the prominent blue flame that had previously been burning on top of the bag.

I blink my eyes and the next time I open them the sky is black. I look around, wanting to make sure that I'm still where I was a moment ago.

I can see the stars shining high above me. And a few moments later my eyes get used to the new lighting as I manage to make out the shapes of my surroundings. I'm still in the crater left by my bag falling from the sky. And I can still see both Nina motionlessly frozen while reaching out to the back, with Cari just barely touching one of her legs while facing up and looking where I was standing when she made contact.

'Maybe I can do something with the bag.' I think to myself, as I recognize the shapes of Treek and Tolan sleeping on the edge of the crater, lying next to where they were standing just a moment ago when it was still bright.

But after walking up to the bag, I find myself unable to touch it, just as I was unable to touch Treek before.

The sky blinks back to brightness and I have to tightly clench my eyes together as the brilliance is quite overwhelming.

But after a few moments of getting readjusted, I manage to take another look at my surroundings.

I'm still just where I was a moment ago, as if I should have expected anything different. And looking around, I can still see Treek and Tolan sitting on the edge of the crater, now being awake again.

"Tolan." Treek begins, while the recipient of the dialog pays no attention to him.

"Tolan..." He continues to roar, sounding quite dehydrated and appearing to be in quite a bad shape. "It's been a whole week and we're all out of supplies. He's not coming back and we can't go touch them or we'll get stuck just like Nina or your sister."

Treek coughs for a moment. It is a dry sounding cough, and I notice how one of his leaves has started to turn brown near the end, appearing quite weak as I know how great of a danger a dead leave can pose to the Grass Type.

"No..." Tolan whispers with a voice not appearing to display any of the weakness that Treek has started harboring after apparently spending an entire week in the scorching heat and dryness of the dead lands. "He'll come back..."

'He's right.' I think to myself. 'There must be something I can do here.'

I turn around to step towards the bag once again, hoping that there might be something I've missed. That something may have changed after an entire week. But before I can my first step, Treek speaks again.

"Tolan, please." He bids my son. "Cyder wouldn't have wanted you to let me die out here..."

"No!" Tolan suddenly shouts out, and before I can turn around to see what he is shouting about, I witness the young Cyndaquil jumping through my invisible body, not noticing me as I'm probably completely invisible to him.

He continues on his way towards his sister, as I realize what he is doing.

"Tolan!" I shout, such meaning filling the word that the thought of it never being heard by anyone manages to upset me. But as was to be expected, the shout he would never hear isn't enough to bring the Cyndaquil to abort his dash as all I can do is watch him jumps at the bag, before getting stuck mid-flight.

'He didn't touch the bag, though.' I wonder to myself, as I turn around to see what Treek is doing. Yet to my surprise, I see the Treecko standing still with his mouth agape, being just about to shout out to my son while not moving a single muscle.

"Treek?" I carefully ask, hoping that something could have finally changed.

But after I get no response for a moment, the sky blinks back to black and Treek is gone.


	63. Don't

My eyes have yet again troubles adjusting, but when they finally do, there is no Grass Type standing before me. And as I turn around to look at the bag, I can see Tolan now fully having made contact with the leather while not being able to move a single muscle either.

I try to walk towards him, but the moment I take my first step, feeling the dirt underneath my feet, the sky blinks to bright again.

"Arg." I start bickering, imagining that whatever is responsible for the sudden shifts in time is sentient and might be listening to me. 'Just... don't!'

But my wish isn't headed and the strain on my eyes gets relieved as everything blinks back into the black or the night, with only the stars above providing any light at all.

But even before I can feel the tiniest bit of relieve from not having my eyes exposed to the brightness, said brightness returns as the sun is now shining directly into my eyes which were directed at the sky in the search of stars.

But wasting no time, it jumps back to black. And then back to white. The cycle continues, each jump appearing to be follow faster. And faster. And faster, until the sky is in a constant state of being both black of the night and the bluish white of the day.

The sky changes from time to time and at some points I can spot the mountains in the distance appearing in different hues.

Days or weeks continue to pass and nothing changes while I have no idea how far I've already went as the thought hasn't even crossed my mind yet. At some point I am surprised to find it raining, but the rain passes through me just like everything else except for the ground still holding me body.

But the rain doesn't last for long, and after the sky blinks a couple more times, the dead lands are back to living up to their name.

'This can't be happening.' I wonder to myself, finally realizing that I have to stop whatever it is that is happened, only to be distracted by something off in the distance catching my attention.

It almost appears like movement. But just a moment later, the movement has vanished and the cycle continues. I don't know how fast time is passing, or rather how often it is that I find myself skipping forward. But as I turn around to look back at the bag, I see new figures that have tried their luck at touching it.

A Zigzagoon has crawled up and is now frozen solid while carefully grabbing at the leather of the bag directly underneath where Tolan is still floating. Directly behind him, a Loudred has probably attempted to pull him out, getting himself frozen in the process before remaining trapped for eternity in the pose.

Time continues to blink forward while I continue to find myself being stuck. Although I can freely move, something I finally decide to do, as I manage to get out of the crater, which has started getting filled with dirt from the winds blowing over the area.

The bag is covered by sands and barely visible, while Cari's body has been fully consumed by the dust and dirt covering her, making me hope that she's still OK. But knowing that if she needed to breathe, she would also have to eat, something she must have been unable to do in who-knows-how-long, I push the concern aside to look around the dead lands.

I turn back to my surroundings, only to be distracted by more rain, this time enough to actually hydrate the region, leaving the cracks in the dirt to vanish and quickly be replaced by a lush green field of grass. Only to quickly be overgrown again by trees covering the entire region, one of which must have decided to grow inside of me. But it doesn't affect me as only the overgrown ground as it was when I touched Cari appears solid underneath my feet. But just as I'm about to try and walk outside of its trunk, I see red covering the landscape.

The world was covered in fire, and just a moment after, I find myself back in the barren place I know as the dead lands.

But nothing changes anymore. I can still see the brilliant fires around me and know that they are the cause of the destruction that beset the lush green I saw only moments ago.

I can still move and find myself walking a few steps into the still image of fires burning high into the sky on every side of me.

The flames are frozen, but unlike the fire on my bag I know that they are regular flames. I am surrounded by the living, breathing tongues of one of nature's most devastating occurrences. But all I can see is what one would witness in the blink of an eye.

I look around again, but all I can see is an entire forest on fire, sharing no warmth with me as some of the flames pass through my body without affecting me in a way, shape or form.

Nothing moves and as I look back, I can see the tree that had grown inside me on fire as well, while the crater where my bag had landed can be seen directly behind, forming a ring of terrain where the grasses appear to never have been able to spread to.

"Try again." A disembodied voice appearing to originate inside of my head suddenly shouts, while the landscape of infernos disappears. And just as I don't understand what is happening, I think to recognize the voice while being unable to assign it to anything I can remember.

The darkness consists and nothing seems to change, but as I look around I can no longer find the crater. But something that surprises me even more, is the fact that as I look up above my head, my eyes begin to adjust to the darkness and start making out the shapes of the millions of stars filling the night sky.

It is dark and there are stars, but what manages to irritate me most, is the fact that I can hear rustling coming from next to my head as I come to realize that I am lying on my back while staring up at the sky.

My eyes fully adjust to the darkness and as I turn my head, I can see the first of a new day's sun arise off in the distance to my right. Whatever day it might belong to.

The rustling continues and I realize that it is a Zorua sneaking away from two sleeping Cyndaquils and a Treecko, causing me to sit up as I realize that something is finally different.

"DON'T!" I shout with all my might, fully expecting nobody to hear my cry. But tears of joy almost start to form on my face, as I realize that I was understood. - That I was given another chance.

Nina, startled by the shout, gets stuck on one of the many crevices covering the ground of the dead lands and falls on her side.

"ARG!" Treek blares back at me, squinting his eyes while shouting at me in frustration. "What the hell, man?"

Nina knows exactly what it is I don't want her to do. And after managing to free her foot from the crack, thankfully without being left with any broken bones, she attempts to act like she didn't do anything wrong.

"No, Cyder." She begins. "I... I wasn't... I definitely wasn't going to..."

My mood manages to interrupt her, as I'm just happy. Happy to have her back, to be allowed to set things right as everything has become so much clearer that it was before. – With the first step being to stop Nina from going through with her plan.

"You don't have to lie." I begin talking to her while Treek rubs his eyes, making sure that he is really awake. And while I'm partially distracted by Tolan giving a hearty yawn, I continue talking to Nina. "The meteor is off limits from now on."

Nina is understandably saddened, as she must not know what had happened the last time she went off to check it out, yet I know that it wasn't just a dream that I had. – I know that what had happened simply explained too much to just be taken for granted. And I know that I would not allow her to waste the second chance I was given.

"And that goes for everyone here." I continue to explain. "Nobody. And I repeat: No-Body! Is going to go and check out, or even get near that crater."

"But..." Nina attempts to persuade me into changing my mind, before I carelessly interrupt her.

"No buts. - Nobody." I repeat myself. "And if you want to know why: because we already went there!"

"How? What?" Nina starts spewing random words indicating confusion.

But to my luck, Treek steps in to calm her down. "I think we should listen to Cyder." He begins. "I had my doubts on that meteorite as well, and I had a pretty bad dream about what's going to happen if we go there."

"Dude." I can't help myself from interrupting him, and continue talking after I turn towards him. "Not a dream. - My bag - time trap - first Nina - then Cari - me gone – one week later: Tolan -"

"Erm..." Treek starts wondering and while processing what I just said begins to widen his eyes before finally swallowing and responding with a feeble "yes".

'Maybe he remembers because he was with me in the library, or maybe because he never touched the frozen flame...'

"Not. A. Dream." I state again, knowing the implications of Treek remembering what had happened full well.

"What! What happened?" Nina shouts out, now standing right next to Treek and me. Tolan and Cari are fully up and attentive. And while they continue to look at us, wondering what it is that I had just enumerated, I make the decision not to tell them.

"It's better you don't know." I simply respond. "And if that's not good enough for you, then take my word on that it's a holder thing."

"So let's just forget about the meteor, get some food in our bellies and then get away from here to we can finally reach Laizisso!" I try to quickly change the subject, before more questions could arise. "So who's with me?"

"I am!" Tolan shouts first obviously speaking out of hunger before immediately being followed by Cari proclaiming that she is as well, while Treek explains that ~he was born ready~.

Nina sighs and my plan to persuade her into staying adds up, as she is practically forced to stop asking questions before finally giving in. "I mean... Yeah. I'm with you, too."

"Great." I respond after hearing what I wanted to hear. "In that case: small little change of plans: we'll be eating while traveling, so be careful not to drop your food into the dust."

It doesn't take long before we're back on our way, and while Nina wasn't able to help herself from longingly looking at the crater the whole time it was still visible, she decided not to run off like she had done one and a half times already.

"Hey Cyder." Treek starts whispering to me after a while of walking as I'm still busy finishing my breakfast with only one of three berries peacefully resting in my stomach.

"Yeah." I whisper back.

"So if all of that was real, then how did we manage to get back?" He asks, thereby stating the single question I probably couldn't even answer if I knew the definite reason.

"I'm not sure." I finally respond, not even lying if one would take my response literally. "I started jumping forward in time quicker and quicker, first seeing the months, then the years passing faster and faster. At first I saw you trying to stop Tolan, before the jumps really started to speed up. And after a while I saw the dead lands turning into a lush forest, before burning down again. At which point time froze in an instant and I woke up as if it was all just a dream. Although it didn't feel like that. - And even if you hadn't remembered any of it, I still would have known that is wasn't just a dream."

"Wow." Treek simply states. "I lived an entire live last night. And although looking at the memories, it does feel like a dream that never really happened to me, I can tell you that I went back to that crater as often as I could, hoping that you would show up again."

"Because you were simply gone the second that Cari touched the flame." He begins retelling his side of the tale. "But I suspect you were still there in one form or another."

"I'd often spend hours upon hours staring at Nina and the kids, even after that Zigzagoon and Loudred showed up."

"But the world changed a lot after you were gone. And even though you probably know this and just thought you should keep it a secret, I know what you were afraid might be happening to the library."

"Yes." I begin speaking as there probably isn't any point in trying to keep it a secret from Treek anymore. "I am afraid that the library might be closing its gates forever. There is something trying to enter it that shouldn't be allowed to, and with all that's happened thus far, it will probably stop allowing anyone to enter permanently."

"No." Treek whispers back. "That's not what happened. The exact opposite is what happened. That meteor was just one of the first miniscule occurrences of it taking place, but for some reason the library began leaking into the real world, with strangely enchanted forests, or caves or sometimes even towns popping up left and right whenever it took ahold of something."

"The war was no longer the only thing one had to be afraid of. It wasn't always a meteor. Sometimes it started with something as innocent as a new forest sprouting, but as soon as you would enter the forest, you'd be somewhere completely different. With ferals surrounding you from all sides, seemingly having waited their entire life just for you to arrive, so they could fulfil their destiny and annihilate you."

"And you couldn't just escape from those places, because as I said: you'd be somewhere completely different from where you entered, so there was no turning back."

"'Mons began calling them ~Mystery Dungeons~ and a lot of innocent lives were lost to them as only the most skilled of fighters ever managed to get through any of them while living to tell the tale. If I might say so myself, I found myself having to fight through a few of them, one of which popped up right next to Laizisso."

I continue interestedly listen to Treek's explanation, while I begin to form an understanding of what must have happened in the parallel reality I just breezed through.

"It was almost like the rules of space and time didn't apply to anyone or anything that went inside of one of those anomalies."

"But back to what I did. After that dungeon popped up right in front of Laizisso, I decided that I wanted to make it my life's work to wait for you. So I build that lush forest you described."

"Sorry." I interrupt him. "But how did you manage to get it to rain in the dead lands?"

"It wasn't easy, but if there was one thing I learned from being around you, it is that everything weird can be explained through logic. And while I knew that I would never understand how those anomalies worked, I knew that if I put my mind to it, I could figure out why it never rained in the dead lands."

"If you want to know, it had something to do with the layout of the mountains to the north and the way that wind blows through them and their various cave systems."

"It might seem unbelievable, but all I had to do in the end was block of a single tunnel leading through one of the mountains."

"That does seem unbelievable." I quickly insert, not wanting make it appear as if I was interrupting him as he continues.

"Anyway. After doing all of that, I spent the remainder of my life waiting for you in my forest. Before it was all over when one of those Mystery Dungeons popped up out of nowhere right in the middle of the ~former~ dead lands."

"It was basically a trap: it lead into an underground cavern filled to the brim with lava, - and I know because I accidentally ended up inside. But when I finally found the exit and was somehow able to escape, I also opened up a path for some of the lava to follow me."

"So soon after, I watched my lush paradise burn to the ground. But it's kind of weird what happened next, because I think I died in that fire. Yet it's really strange to remember since it all seems like a dream and the last thing I remember isn't actually dying, but being about to as I cling onto a branch with the inferno blazing directly below me."

Treek seems to have finished and after a few moments pass, I feel the need to respond.

"You know." I begin, not really knowing what to say as I continue to process the implications of Treek's story. "I think we can assume that the same course of action is going to take place again, unless we put an end to it."

"Agreed." Treek simply states, as I realize that we hadn't been whispering for the last couple of minutes, or making sure that Nina or the Kids weren't listening to us.

Because as I find myself still holding one of my breakfast berries in my right paw, I can see Nina walking directly behind me, not saying a single word either because she wants to act like she didn't hear anything, or because what she just heard has stolen her voice.

"How much did you hear?" I ask carefully, as Treek turns around and starts choking on his own berry.

"I..." She begins, while I notice Tolan and Cari having listened in on us as well. "I don't even know what I heard. - But I guess we should look out for those anomaly thingies."

I sigh and turn back to the way we are heading.

"Yeah..." I simply state, while Treek finally stops choking and spits out the piece of the fruit that caused him the troubles. "We should look out for those ~anomaly thingies~."


	64. Home

Both Nina and the kids remained silent the rest of the way. And despite what had happened last night, or rather during the time from yesterday until a lifetime further into the future, the only thing I find myself taking out of what has happened is confidence about us being safe in Laizisso.

Mainly because Laizisso remained the safe haven it had always been until the Mystery Dungeon popped up, but also because there is nothing standing in our way at this point.

I had explained both to Nina and the kids that they should never talk about anything they heard Treek telling me in ~privacy~, much less anywhere in public.

But at this point I feel comfortable to no longer worry about jinxing anything by saying how nothing could go wrong.

We have left the dead lands couple of kilometers behind us and looking forward, I can see the many cozy looking houses, partially stacked on top of each other on Laizisso. With a river flowing through town and a handcrafted wooden bridge that would allow even me to traverse it without getting my fur wet. – And die...

The village is located in the middle of a clearing in Gloom Woods that is probably of an artificial origin, or at least has been expanded upon multiple times. The small community has grown a bit since I saw it the last time, and while I can't help myself from finally feeling the long dreaded relieve I so desperately sought after, I laugh out loudly, cheering our own arrival to the safe haven by adding to all the joy and happiness already coursing through the air.

As we stand just a couple of meters away from what would be considered the entrance to the village, Treek stands in the way of our view and decides to introduce us by reading a sign put up on one of the tree trunks next to the entrance.

"Laizisso." He begins reading, pronouncing the name of his hometown as proudly as he can. "Population: twentysix-ish."

I look past Treek and at the sign. And looking at it, I can confirm that it literally says ~twentysix-ish~.

I smile over such a small, innocent detail, imagining how the sign must have been put up by the children attending the local school. But Treek remains unimpressed and continues by reading the town's motto.

"The little piece of paradise you never knew existed." He proudly exclaims.

'That's quite the odd motto.' I think to myself, wondering about its meaning as I don't remember ever hearing about a town motto the last time I was here. But I'm not given any time to think about it before Treek turns around and address us again.

"Now." He grabs our attention, while I can hear a child's laughter that must be coming from the village's school echo through the trees. "This is my home town, so be at you best behavior and don't mess this up for us. Stick to the story and don't tell anyone who you really are."

Now only turning to Nina, he continues. "You're go'na have it the hardest of all of us. And all we can do is hope that nobody knows that you were a soldier, like that Maril did. So if you think that someone we might come across knows you, hide from them and tell us who it is so we can safely explain it to them."

"And please stick to the story. Because while I'm not racist, you will encounter quite a few 'mons in there that believe all dark types to be evil. Some even going as far as to suggest that you should be banished simply for existing. So just prove them wrong and show that you're nothing but the kind hearted soul that you are."

Nina nods and all I can do is hope that the fox won't break under the pressure. Treek has a point in mentioning racism against dark types, something I hadn't even thought about before. But then again, the sad part is that some of their fears are part of the reason why safe havens like Laizisso still exist. Because it is true that the military encourages dark types to join them more than any other typing.

But I'm confident that she will manage to make friends among the town's inhabitants if she just shows them who she really is.

"Onwards to you, Quill." Treek continues as I take a moment to recognize my public name. Treek probably won't be using my real name for quite a while. At least not while we're in public. "You should be fairly familiar with who you are, so I won't repeat that part. But please do be careful not to cause one of your fiery incidents. Not just because you might burn down the whole village, but also because you'd get yourself and all of us banished will also ruining any chances of another Fire Type ever entering the town again."

"If it happens around my parents they'll probably understand, but do keep yourself together in public, OK? No: better yet: keep yourself together at all times."

I start nodding as I really want to get this over with. I've already waited for what feels like an eternity to enter the town, and Treek is just prolonging the wait.

"Yes, I know what I have to do." I ask impatiently. "We all do; so can we just enter already?"

"Yes." Treek responds. "That was all I wanted to address in any case, although you're making it sound like you didn't pay any attention."

I roll my eyes, but in order to satisfy Treek, I given in and respond truthfully. "I know what to do. And it's going to be fine. So let's just go already."

Treek simply nods as a responds and turns around before we finally start entering the village.

It's just as picturesque as I had imagined it to be, and continues to live up to what I remember and what I had already seen while Treek was preventing us from entering.

While taking it all in, not caring how suspicions our looks might appear to anyone but Treek, who continues to casually lead the group, we come across an Ivysaur.

"Hey Bob." Treek greets the green creature of Grass.

"Hey..." The creature apparently named Bob starts returning the greeting before interrupting his own though as he focuses on Nina.

"Treek..." He finally finishes his statement while Treek has already decided to make the situation less awkward by continuing onwards and starting to whistle an upbeat melody.

"Good day to you too, Bob." Nina greets the previously so friendly creature, before receiving an angry stare in return, followed by Bob taking two of his vines and first pointing them towards his eyes, then pointing them towards Nina, probably indicating that he's going to keep an eye on her.

'Keep it up.' I think to myself, almost feeling compelled to whisper the words to Nina, but deciding not to out of fear she might understand it ironically.

Treek leads us across the bridge I had previously seen, and looking past the railing, I can see a Pelipper plucking his feathers while sitting on top of a rock in the middle of a small lake that the river below leads into and the village appears to have been built around of.

The bird doesn't seem to have noticed the new arrivals and not wanting to appear suspicions if he does decide to look at us, I quickly avert my glance and look off the other side of the bridge.

Underneath a small waterfall, calmly flowing into the river passing below the bridge I can see an Electrike playing catch with a Pichu while being encouraged to keep it up by a Whiscash poking its head out of the water.

Treek continues to lead us through the village and I finally remember what I previously couldn't think of, as I realize which one of the houses is his. - Or rather belongs to his parents.

It is the one beyond the bridge, built on stilts while partially reaching over the lake.

I can already see it with its straw roof and wooden walls, just standing exactly where I remembered it being the last time I was here.

'As if it would have moved since then.' I find myself thinking for a moment, giggling over the thought while finding it quite easy to do so after just having managed to get here despite everything that was thrown in our way.

Treek continues to lead the group and after averting my eyes from the building for just a moment, I begin to notice just how many eyes are directed as us. Or rather at Nina.

A Ludicolo which had previously been enjoying the nice weather while simply lying on the grass in front of what I assume to be his house is now standing, appearing stiff with unease written over his face while being ready to attack the Zorua at just a moment's notice. He keeps his eyes fixated on the fox and I know that I would not want to be in the shoes of the dark time right now.

'Poor Nina.' I find myself feeling sorry for what she has to endure, even though the young Dark Type manages to keep a straight face while ignoring all the eyes poking at her, analyzing every miniscule movement she makes while making sure to remain ready for an attack if the so much as flinches the wrong muscle.

Looking past the Ludicolo, I notice a Shiftry overlooking the village while keeping a close eye on the fox as well.

'I remember him.' I think to myself while I try not to fall behind the group. 'He was the village's elder. And considering he's still alive, he probably still is. - Unless that's not really him, or my memories fail me.'

But after turning back towards Treek, we finally find ourselves only meters away from our new home, as Treek walks up a flight of stairs leading up to the front door.

Tolan and Cari look like they don't know what to say, which is probably a good thing considering that there's nothing they should say in a situation like this. And while I keep my eyes on them and watch them patiently wait these last couple of moments before they too would be allowed to enter their now home, even if it's not going to house them forever, Treek finally decides to make himself heard.

"Mom!" He shouts our arrival to anyone who might be inside, thus finally requesting entrance for a place I so often feared to never reach with everyone still being OK. Yet here we are, without a single loss along the way. - Although that might be debatable...

"Dad!" The Grass Type I know as my best friend shouts again, making sure that anyone inside is able to hear us. "It's Treek."

 _## - End of Season 4 - ##_

 _Authors Note:_  
 _We finally end a season on a higher note, as the team actually manages to do what they set out to accomplish._

 _And I hope that all concerns about this really being a Mystery Dungeon Story can be finally put to rest. Because this is what I was building up to: explaining what Mystery Dungeons actually are._

 _Maybe I should update the 10000 words description, because according to that we should be in season #17 by now. But then again, I'd rather set the minimum season size low, so I don't have to constantly worry about hitting that magic number._

 _Anyways: stay tuned for season #5! Although I can't promise when that's going to start coming out, so just be patient. - And if you're not: expect it to be later, rather than sooner._

 _And don't forget to tell me what you think. All feedback is greatly appreciated, helps me improve my writing, and shows me that my work isn't for nothing._


	65. Quill And Melissa

_Authors Note:_  
 _It's been a while and you may have thought this story was dead, but I can assure you that I had just as much fun writing Season 5 as I did writing the previous ones._

 _This time featuring ~52000 words and consisting of chapters #65 - #83, it will once again be uploaded by the usual schedule of one chapter per day._

 _Thanks to the great feedback I was given, this season will focus less gorily detailed violence, as well as focus more on the adventure aspect._

 _So continue to help me get better by reviewing, and I can promise that I will do nothing but improve._

 _Fanfiction: www¸fanfiction¸net/u/7545584  
Deviantart: www¸grieferatwork¸deviantart¸com_

* * *

While we are still waiting I begin feeling the sheer number of eyes directed at us. And even though most of them are looking at Nina standing next to me and doing her best to try and ignore them, I can't help but feel as if it is actually me that everyone is staring at. - Wondering what a Quilava alongside two Cyndaquils is doing in their small little town, and what the purpose of my being here could possibly be.

But while I don't dare to take a look around, acting just as casual as Nina ever since having entered the village, I notice how quiet everything had become.

The only thing that can still be heard are some leaves mildly rustling in a calm summer breeze passing overhead, accompanied by the occasional gurgling of the pond that Treek's home has been built next to, with two of its corners resting on stilts reaching underneath the surface while being covered by the shadow cast by the home itself.

It is a special structure, not being built out of dead wood, to be held together by rope and nails. While not being particularly large, it is a living thing, as a tree that stood on the property when they first arrived is still there, but was bent, shaped and added onto, thus forming the cozy, little lake-side building in front of us.

I still remember the layout, with only having a couple of room in total, all located on the same floor and a ladder on the back to get on the roof where a set of chairs, as well as a table should be.

But as I continue to look at the sight of our future home, my eyes fall to the shadows underneath the home.

"Hello-o?" Treek shouts again as no response had come from inside thus far.

The commotion around us starts returning back to normal, as the other residents must have begun realizing that there are probably better things for them to do, than intimidate a dark type that doesn't seem to be doing anything but wait just like me and the rest of the team.

I can spot a small and broken looking drying rack in-between the shrubbery below the house and next to where the water starts. Between a rusty looking bucket that I could swear to remember already there the last time I was here and the staircase leading up to the front door made out of lively looking woods and due to its living nature sprouting small bundles of leaves at a few places, I can see it mostly shrouded in shadows as almost no daylight manages to reach it in its concealed location.

Finally thinking to have heard sounds coming from the door and not knowing how long we've already been waited for, with it already feeling like an eternity, I can spot the door opening while a young, female Grovyle steps appears in the now open doorframe, still holding onto the door handle with one of its paws while bewilderedly staring at us.

I don't know her, something that confused me as I know that besides Treek's mother being a Sceptile, I fail to spot some of the minor details I learned to look out for when identifying her from a crowd of 'mons.

"Melissa?" Treek wonders out loud, not trying even the slightest to hide his astonishment while I realize that the Treecko must know her.

"Treek?" The Grovyle, who's apparently named Melissa responds equally as surprised and confused.

"What are you doing here?" Treek asks, still standing at the bottom of the steps leading up to the door, while Melissa doesn't appear to have noticed the presence of the rest of the team.

I begin to wonder if she might be an old girlfriend of Treek's, but just a moment later it hits me who she must be, letting me feel quite glad that I had held back from uttering the thought.

"I could ask you the same thing..." The Grovyle responds while managing to look past the Treecko and abruptly halting her survey as her eyes fall on the four of us still patiently waiting for what is next to come.

"' They with you?" She asks before Treek snaps back to reality and quickly responds.

"Yes they are." He begins, still speaking in a quite upbeat and surprised tone. "And I'll explain why we're all here, but we should get inside first. - We've had one heck of a time getting here."

"Sure. Sure." Melissa answers before stepping aside and allowing us to take our first look inside.

Still staring at us, or more specifically at the Zorua still managing to stand strong, Treek turns around to repeat the invitation.

Yet he doesn't even get the chance as Tolan and Cari immediately jump on the opportunity and sprint up the stairs, already being inside the building before I even manage to set a foot on the stair's first step.

I'm second to head up after the kids, smiling to myself about their joy and remembering how I was just like them the first time I got to enter this place. Yet I'm not planning on making the same mistake I did then and rush inside, immediately acting as if I owned the place.

And after greeting Melissa who still has her sight fixated on Nina, similar to how the other villagers had kept their eyes narrowed on her, I can't even be certain whether or not the Grovyle even heard my greeting as she doesn't respond before I walk past her and step inside.

Yet after stepping inside, closely followed by the Zorua, a part of me wondering if I could go undetected without my hat while in the presence of the Dark Type, I start taking a look around.

As the first thing I notice Tolan and Cari doing the same while standing less than a meter away from me with Treek property having entered after the fox and now looking at me from next to the door.

'When it comes to size, this place has nothing on my old den.' Is the first thought that comes to my mind before I quickly shake it aside, realizing how ungrateful it would sound if I would actually utter the words.

Because I truly am as grateful as I could be for all the luck I fell in place which allowed me to get here.

Directly left to the entrance is a wall, separating the building into two sections. - If I remember correctly, the sectioned off room is where Treek's parents sleep, alongside some of their more valued items.

But as I strive my eyes across the room, I begin noticing things that I don't remember seeing the last time I was here.

A few new drawing of different landscapes have appeared on the walls. A picture of a waterfall rushing into a lake with branches forming a sort of ring around the focus point of the picture where a Pidgeot has landed in the middle of the lake, brushing its feathers while seemingly unaware of the artist that had captured the scenery.

Right next to it, I spot see a family portrait, detailing Treek, both of his Parents and another Treecko.

I should have realized the moment I saw her, but it isn't something that Treek motions often. Yet he has a sister named Melissa, something I had completely forgotten and am quite glad about not mentioning before.

I continue to let my eyes wander the room as I notice Nina passing by me, taking the chance to release a sigh of relieve before walking up the kids still looking at their surroundings in awe.

Across the room and on the other side of the front door, is a window with an actual glass pane, something that I know is quite difficult to obtain around these parts.

A branch next to the window once again reminds me of the living nature that is this building. And remembering how Treek once told me that his parents chose this spot simply for that tree, I come to soothing this place must be for him.

It must be something lies in his family, as I know how gifted Treek is when it comes to shaping nature to create something beautiful where no one else would have seen anything worthwhile.

I smile and feel a shower of awe overcome me as I manage to look away from the branch and continue inspecting the decoration.

Just in front of the window is some straw lying on the floor, some of it still green, reminding me of the fact that Grass Types prefer sleeping on grass that has yet to die, unlike other 'mons who don't really care and may even find the moistness of the blades quite discomforting, like me.

Yet to the left of it, the room opens up to reveal a small corridor with the entrance to their parent's sleeping quarters. And stepping up to the kids and taking a quick glance down the hallway, I can see the door just as I remembered it with a few flower pots at the end of the hall, where yet another window with an actual glass pane is letting light fall through the back wall.

The glass is quite dirty and if I didn't know that what lies behind is Laizisso, I would have believed that I was looking at nothing but a blurry fleck of colors, from time to time partially covered by the shadows of the house's leaves hanging of its sides and waving in the wind.

I turn around and see Treek leaning against the counter of the kitchen section which is located just to the right of the entrance where Melissa is currently closing the door behind herself, having quite a hard time in stopping to stare at the Dark Type, probably telling herself that she should trust her brother's word and believe that the fox being here truly isn't something to be concerned about.

On the other end of this literal tree house, I can see an empty shelf leaning against the corner next to the straw on the floor.

If I remember correctly, then this was where a Tele-Orb used to sit. But even it was still there when I visited last, I should have expected it to have vanished a long time ago. The last one his parents were able to afford probably having run out of power years ago, nothing is allowed to be broadcast anymore anyways, as the military made the technology illegal to own out of fear of it being used by spies for communicating information over enormous distances in the blink of an eye.

Yet while they made the technology illegal and swear on anyone using it being prosecuted and dealt with in quite a harsh way, they themselves actually do still use it whenever it suits them.

Not many 'mons are left that know how to craft these specific orbs, me being one of them. But while it is quite sad to see this device's secrets slowly getting forgotten, it isn't something that really bothers me, as it just means one less threat that I have to consider.

Finally turning to Treek leaning against the counter with a bucket of water standing next to him that is probably meant for drinking and simply originates from the pond just below our feet, I don't feel threatened by its presence, nor the fact that my most hated element can be found less than two meters below my feet.

The door is finally closed and Treek's sister turns around, probably hoping to be the first to state a question, only to immediately be interrupted by the Treecko.

"So when did you evolve?" He asks, as I detect some concern in his voice and wonder if he is purposely asking one of the less important questions instead of simply starting to explain who the rest of the team is.

Melissa wasn't home when I was here all those years ago. Which, alongside the fact that no family photos were hanging on the walls them, is the reason why I didn't know what she looked like. Yet this must be her in all her glory, as I find myself taking a closer look at the first real-life Grovyle that I ever crossed paths with me.

With red covering her body from chin to tail, and a thin line of green running from side to side just above her legs, she is bipedal just like her pre- and post-evolution.

Each of her limbs ends with two claws that I really wouldn't want to have to face in a one-on-one fight. But as she turns around, appearing a bit annoyed by the fact that her Brother was faster in asking a question than her, she swings her head around while elegantly wielding an enormous leaf protruding from her head, even reaching all the way to the tip of two smaller leaving describing her tail.

"A couple of days ago. - Which is why I came back home." She says, none of the annoyance I would have expected her to talk with present in her voice, but still just as present in her composure.

"But what are you doing here?" She continues, not giving Treek another chance to be faster than her. "And who are they?" She finishes the thought while yet again glancing at the black haired fox.

"Oh right!" Treek exclaims before quickly starting to explain.

Since the other Grass Type has never seen me before, Treek has to explain exactly who I am, detailing the same story we had decided upon when we first reached the point where I had to forge a character to play as when in public.

"This is Quill." He begins while pointing at me. "And these are his kids Tolan and Cari." He continues, now pointing at the children still wearing wide smiles over the fact of finally having arrived at safety.

"And the Zorua, Nina is his body guard." He explains as I expertly manage to suppress a chuckle I would have gladly made audible, as this is quite the believable explanation for why a Dark Type capable of disguising itself would be traveling with me.

"Mom and dad may have mentioned him at one point, but Quill is from the Eastern Mountain Range in Dararu where he's an important business 'mon."

I really love this character that Treek and I forged all that time ago, but still manages to come in handy now and then. And with all the time that has passed, I've grown quite accustomed to how Quill reacts in different situations.

"We were class mates at the guild's school and quickly became friends."

Melissa gives a short nod as she appears to believe the story before quickly and emotionlessly glancing at me while I return her stare equally as emotionless.

"I invited him to take a vacation here in laid-back Laizisso, where he could relax with his kids, so that's why we're here." Treek continues to explain before taking a short pause.

"But try not to bother him too much, as he's not too good with strangers ever since he had to fight in the war. And I know he doesn't look like it and appears quite healthy at first glance, but..."

Treek aborts to lower his voice, acting like he doesn't want ~Quill~ to hear what he is saying. But while I'm quite capable to understanding him, my persona does his job and acts like nothing strange is happening.

"Don't mention his hat, because he's using it to hide a nasty scar that he got in a fight to the death with a Nidoking."

The Grovyle sends me a saddened look before turning to Treek and whispering back, actually making it quite hard for me to still understand while Nina looks at me and wrinkles her forehead before returning to looking around like me and the kids had already done a few minutes ago.

"So is he still part of Dararu's military then?" Melissa asks with a concerned tone.

"Nah." Treek quickly responds. "He was forced to fight against his will in the first place, leaving him not only physically but even more so mentally scarred. - So try not to read too much into what he might be blabbering while sleeping or what he might do during the day."

"But as I mentioned, he's quite well known in Dararu as the 'mon managing one of the more important trade routes. And being the public figure that he is other there, he couldn't hide himself from being drafted once his time came."

"I see." The Grovyle concludes before Treek speaks up again, no longer whispering and allowing everyone present, including Quill, to understand what he is saying.

"I really didn't expect to meet you being all evolved and such after not seeing you for such a long time."

"I know, right?" She responds. "You wouldn't believe how surprised I was to one morning wake up, go for a drink at the river where I always go to drink near my home in Korana and see my own reflection in the water."

"I'm actually quite sad that I, like, wasn't awake when it happened."

The Grovyle chuckles for a moment, closing her yellow eyes while walking a few steps towards her brother still leaning against the kitchen's counter.

"But I guess I'll just have to try harder to recognize the changes when the time comes for me to grow again and become just like mom."

Melissa chuckles again and proceeds to grab a small cub before beginning to fill it with some of the water from the bucket I noticed earlier.

I look around to find Tolan and Cari having wondered off, probably on their way around the small little house with their minds set on getting accustomed to the place as fast as possible.

A moment later I spot them as I begin to move around as well. They are inspecting the flower pots at the end of the hallway next to the nest room of Treek's parents.

"Hey Treek." Melissa speaks to the Treecko behind my back. "Could you tell Quill and the kids not to go inside mom and dad's room?"

"Sure." Treek responds before speaking up. "Hey Tolan, Cari and Quill: try to stay out of that other room. That's where my parents sleep and they really don't like anyone going in there unannounced."

Tolan and Cari are quick to respond as they shout back. "Yes, Uncle Treek."

A moment later Quill reacts as well as I find myself responding to the inquiry. "'ll keep that in mind, buddy."

Quill talks a bit different than me, sometimes leaving out a word here or there and generally being less stable when it comes to his mood changing.

"So do you have any idea where mom and dad are?" Treek asks while I arrive next to the kids to realize what it is that they're doing.

"I asked around and apparently they went out into the forest to search for some missing villagers. But if you know them half as well as I do, you'll know that they won't be trying to find someone, but simply to indulge in the pure, untouched nature before returning to civilization a couple of days later."

Instead of just asking for permission, I find the kids eating a Rawst Berry that I remember previously hanging from one of the bushes.

Tolan bites down on the bitter fruit, only to have his face get distorted by the bitter taste as he clenches his eyes shut and spits out the partially chewed fruit.

"Yeah. - Not that tasty." I begin scolding him and his sister who was just about to reach for a Leppa.

Both of them quickly realize my presence and turn around, while Cari, not actually having plucked any of the fruits as far as I can tell, but still carefully licking around her mouth as I can see a few remnants of the sweet endeavor surrounding her mouth, does look quite guilty as I continue speaking.

"I hope you learned two things." I explain, not letting my eyes off of the two of them. "First: Rawst berries taste horrible. And second: don't just take something without asking."

Tolan, still with the tense smile that the sour fruit is forcing him to wear, manages to respond.

"Sorry..." He begins, trying to get accustomed to the strong sensation that the taste has left him with. "But I think I actually like how this tastes. – It feels kind of funny."

I furrow, as I'm not finding myself believing his explanation. But just as I am about to speak again, a voice from behind me prohibits me from doing so.

"Oh: you can eat from those." Melissa addresses the kids while I can see Nina passing by me to get some of the snacks as well.

I turn around to see the Grovyle once again staring at the black haired fox, not paying any attention to me before she addresses Nina.

"You know." She begins, forcing herself to sound sincere. "Aren't you a little young to be a bodyguard?"

Realizing that this is a question we hadn't planned for, I decide to step in and answer on the Zorua's behalf before she may have said something what would have contradicted Quill's character.

"Officially she's my bodyguard. But in actuality, I took her in after she was left without anywhere to live. I pay her by providing food and shelter, but over the time she's become more and more a part of the family."

"Ohhh..." The Grovyle responds in a heartwarming tone, finding the explanation quite likable while I'm just as proud of having come up with something as believable as this on the spot.

Nina smiles back at the Grass Type. Maybe just happy because of the twist I just put on her character, or maybe because she is happy that for the first time since arriving in this village of racists not willing to look past her typing, there is someone smiling back at her without appearing as if they were simply readying themselves for the first strike.

"It must have been hard losing your parents..." Melissa tries to show empathy for what Nina must have went through.

But maybe just to make her character appear more believable, or maybe because I tried too hard to make her backstory as relatable to her as I could, Nina must have realized that she too lost her parents, as I find the smile vanishing from her face while her eyes become blurry, reflecting more and more of the sunlight falling through the window next to us, before realizing what has happened as the fox clenches her eyes shut and looks away.

"I'm sorry..." Melissa tries to explain herself. "I didn't mean to..."

But feeling how it would be just as much Cyder's as it is Quill's place to respond, I interrupt the Grovyle and try to defuse the situation.

"Sis OK. – Jus' be more careful from now on."

Melissa gives me a nod as I adjust my hat while standing up after having sat down next to the kids when I originally intended to scold them for stealing the berries.

But now that they have been given permission by the Grovyle, I can already see them back at nibbling on the sweet, as well as the sour fruits, with Tolan holding another Rawst Berry as he joyfully lets his body get overwhelmed by the sensation of fruit's taste.

I guess it's actually a good thing if he likes the taste of the sour fruit. Because even though I can't see myself ever enjoying them, it is a fact, that a healthy Fire Type can eat them to strengthen his ember's resistance to anything that could pose a risk of extinguishing their ember. And seeing how we're finally safe and how the two of them are quite healthy, I decide to let them enjoy themselves without explaining the dangers if their ember was weakened, as I turn away while Cari attempts to take the fruit from Tolan doing his best to keep all of it to himself and as far away from his sister as he can.

"So Quill." Melissa addresses me, as I can see Treek having laid down on the fresh grass below the window, while with his eyes closed as he simply enjoys the sun falling through the glass pane just above him.

"Don't understand this as bad hospitality, but how long are you planning on staying here?"

"Oh you know..." I immediately begin. "' haven't really set a limit on how long 'll stay away from Dararu. To be honest, I haven't even told anyone where I would be going, mainly because I really needed go get some leisure somewhere far away from work."

I chuckle for a moment before continuing. "'m even kind of considering to stay here forever, 'cause I already love just how laid back and peaceful this place is."

Continuing to babble on without any meaning and avoiding the initial question, I, or rather Quill, continues. "'D whole place hasn't changed a bit since my last visit here a couple of years ago. - I mean: obviously there are the minor things that changed, but the place as whole is still just as lovely as I remembered it."

Taking a short pause to smile and look out of the window into the blurry colors of the town surrounding us, and once again realizing how weird the idea of living in a tree is while noticing leaves sprouting out of the walls around the windows in multiple places, I wait a few moments before continuing.

"And just between us." I speak up again. "None of my workers even know that I'm here."

Chuckling again, I quickly continue. "I wonder if they'll even notice that I'm gone..."

But finally finishing my monologue, I still see Melissa standing next to me before I finally give her the answer she was looking for.

"But I guess a few weeks. - You know: for the summer."

The Grovyle, seemingly quite happy that I finally gave her the answer that she was waiting for gives me a nod before turning to Tolan and Cari.

Nina is no longer at the berry bushes and has probably found herself a nice shady spot where she can take a rest just as Treek has decided to, but Tolan and Cari are still there, wearing the forced smiles of having attempted and succeeded in eating Rawst Berries before having decided to lie down below the window. Calmly resting within the sunlight, now peacefully breathing while simply enjoying the safety of being surrounded by walls from all sides, alongside the invigorating energy of the sun.

"I would have suggested that we went outside." Melissa begins, almost sounding disappointed. "But I guess Treek wasn't kidding when he said that you guys are quite spent."

"Jah." I simply respond, before finding nothing better to say or do, then to take my own place next to the kids, allowing the sun to hit me as well before closing my eyes to simply enjoy the moment.


	66. Changes

I must have fallen asleep and the first thing I notice is the bright source of heat in the sky having vanished as I open my eyes.

Light is still there and the sun must just be about to set, but as I take a first look around myself, I immediately notice two things missing: Tolan and Cari.

"Tolan?" I ask out loudly, before quickly speaking his sister's name without giving anyone who might be around a chance to respond. "Cari?!"

"We're here, dad." I get a calm response from behind me. And after realizing that I am still facing the berry bush and quickly spin around, I can see a total of five 'mons sitting and lying on the floor in front of the other window opposite of the front door, with a dim candle sitting between them, which probably can't be allowed to burn brighter considering the place it was lit in.

"Come over." Treek invites me before I waste no time and realize that I am missing out on dinner.

Apparently Melissa had offered to serve food for the evening, but Treek managed to convince her that we still had some provisions from our journey left over.

So as I arrive at the ring formed by Treek, Melissa, Cari, Tolan and even Nina who is surprisingly enough sitting quite comfortable between her Cyndaquil friend and the Grovyle that is Treek's sister, Tolan and Treek scooch over a little and I find myself getting handed a Pecha, as well as an apple by the Treecko still in charge over the supplies.

"We wanted to wait for you before eating, but..." Treek begins explaining before stopping as he points around the ring of satisfied and sleepy looking 'mons. "But you just kept on sleeping until the point where some of us couldn't wait any longer. And I didn't want to wake you, since it looked like you were having a pretty nice dream."

"How come so?" I ask, once again being forward the way Quill is.

"For one thing: you weren't talking, like you were the last couple of nights. - At least until you woke up."

I take a first bite from the apple and feel the sweet taste spread over my tongue.

The sun, as lovely as it felt having it heat up my body, left my ember at quite a high temperature, resulting in me having quite literally burnt up a lot of power, but leaving me feeling quite refreshed.

"By the way." Treek begins anew as I hungrily take another bite out of the apple. "It's not really that important, but there's a school in town that Tolan and Cari could go to."

"OK..." I respond, slurping as some of the apple's juices are running down my arms, sticking together the strands of the already extremely dirty fur.

I shudder for a moment as the thought of having to wash myself if I were to keep paying no attention crosses my mind. But not feeling like it is too much of a problem right now, I push it aside and continue to listen to the Grass Type.

"It's unlikely that we would find a Fire-Type teacher, but never the less: they could use the experiences they can get by learning in a safe environment."

I don't see a reason why the kids shouldn't visit the local school. - After all: if we are planning on staying here for a few months, it will be everyone's job to try and fit in as best as they can.

When Melissa asked me how long we are planning on staying, I intentionally explained that it would be for quite some time. Because according to Treek's memories, one of those Dungeons will show up sooner or later.

"Nothing wrong with that." I respond, pausing for a moment before expanding on my explanation. "But before I hand them over to anyone, I wanna get to know this town better."

I take another short look around and notice how both Tolan and Cari have closed their eyes again.

'If we're all getting back to sleep already, I hope that they won't wake up before the sun shows up.' I find myself wondering as a yawn escapes my lungs.

"Hey Melissa." I wonder out loudly as I finish yawning. "Is there someplace specific we should sleep, or is anywhere OK?"

It doesn't take a second before I get my response. And as I take the first bite out the Berry after having completed the apple, the candle flickers for a moment while the Grovyle repositions herself before answering the question.

"I've only been here for a day before you showed up." She begins explaining. "But I've just been sleeping right here under with window."

After pausing for a moment during which I find myself staring at the candle, resulting from it having managed to grab my attention with its flickering, Treek's sister continues to elaborate.

"When I was little, I used to have my own little room on the roof." She explains. "I actually built it myself, but I guess mom and dad took it down when I moved out."

She gives a friendly nudge against the unevolved Grass Type who continues to remain silent while returning the smile as a response.

"So if you want me to specify somewhere, I'd suggest that you sleep other there." The Grovyle continues while pointing at the cleanly picked berry bushes at the end of the hallway, before pausing for a moment to send me an upbeat smile. "Seems like you've already managed to fall asleep in that spot before."

I return the smile and decide not to speak up before Melissa continues talking. "But don't worry. - I'm sure that once they're back mom and dad will gladly construct a shelter above where you can sleep without us distracted you. - I could set it up too, but I don't want to upset them by doing so without their consent."

I simply continue to nod, realizing that I wasn't even paying attention to most of what the Grass Type was saying. And with my stomach full and both the apple and the berry completely gone, I felt like the time for me to once again go back to sleep has come. - A sleep that, as far as I'm concerned, can last for weeks if not an eternity.

The last couple of days must have been one of the more, if not the most intense experience of my life. - Only giving me a second of breathing room at a time before punching the air I so tediously collected back out of my lungs, throwing yet another obstacle in my way.

But as I wonder about the thought, realizing just how often I've already recited this idea, I reach the conclusion that I should simply stop thinking about what happened and start focusing on what I have to do next.

Too many questions are still left unanswered. - Too many unknowns and too many things that make no sense what-so-ever, and shouldn't have happened in the first place.

I wonder for a moment while the candle flickers again. - Maybe because I accidentally blew at it while exhaling, maybe because the wind found a way to pass through the sticks and branches that this house's walls are made out of. Or maybe just because Melissa moved again.

"There's no denying it." I suddenly speak up, realizing that Melissa must have stopped talking to me minutes ago, as not only she, but Nina and Treek all turn their heads towards me.

Tolan and Cari still have their eyes closed and I assume that they must have fallen back to sleep.

"We've had a long day, so..." I speak up before interrupting myself as I turn to face the Grovyle. "If you don't mind, I suggest that we all go back to sleep."

No motion coming from the two most definitely sleeping Cyndaquils can be noticed before Treek decides to respond.

"Yeah..." He begins before interrupting himself as a yawn that probably had been waiting for this chance escapes him. "I'm feeling kind of spend as well."

Turning to his sister, he quickly continues. "Mind if I sleep with Quill?"

My ears instantly peek as I hear him state the sentence, as I know that it probably isn't just meant as a question but more likely means that he has something he has to tell me. - Something not meant for the ears of Quill, but for the ears of Cyder, the holder.

I take care to calm my heartbeat, but realize that it is too late as I find myself having stood up in the short moment of being surprised.

The Grovyle is staring at my sudden display of vigilance. But realizing that she knows me as Quill, I know how to disarm the situation.

"Sorry, I..." I begin, purposefully stuttering to appear more believable. "I... I think I'll just go to bed. - Sorry..."

Already standing, I can still feel her eyes piercing me, but know that they will only wonder for so long before the Grass Type is going to remember what Treek had told her about me.

I walk the few steps over to the kids before carefully picking them up, doing my best as to not awake them. Something I know quite well how to do, seeing how this isn't even the first time I had to carry them around while keeping them asleep.

A moment later, I stand up straight, holding Tolan in my left paw and Cari in my right, before I turn to face down the short hallways ending by the berry bushes.

The walls as crocked and the floor is uneven as I once again find myself reminded of the fact that for all intents and purposes I'm walking around inside of a tree. I can see leaves having out of the walls here and there while the building as a whole still manages to appear just like any other home that isn't a tree.

The only remaining light is the candle behind my back. And looking into the darkness, I can see Treek already having snuck by me and having made his way over to the bushes where he is lying on his back.

The sun has most definitely set. And as I walk, I notice the light of the candle vanishing, leaving my eyes to quickly adjust to the darkness now surrounding me and allowing me to see the outlines of everything around me in the weak moonlight falling through the window right of me.

With each step I take great care not to stumble, as the uneven floor with roots protruding from it couldn't be described as anything but a trap for someone not familiar with its layout.

As I reach the second window, with Treek lying under it, I take a look outside. The light falling in is still just as blurry as I should have expected it to be, but I do manage to make out two white lights hitting the pane. - One being the moon standing high up in the sky, while the other is his reflection in the pond just behind the house.

I turn away from the sight, as there isn't really much to look at. And while reminding myself that I wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon, knowing that I had already gotten quite a good amount of sleep throughout the afternoon, as well as the fact that I would have to stay awake until Treek and I could be sure that Melissa wouldn't listen in on us, I put down the kids equally as carefully as I had picked them up.

Cari is the first to take her place next to the bushes that they had spent their afternoon picking clean, while I struggle not wake her with only having paw to work with. Tolan follows after I succeed, and I place him next to his sister, managing not to wake either of them while feeling proud of myself of having accomplished the feat without any complications.

Turning to Treek, still staring at me with wide eyes, making sure that some of the light would be reflected by them and allow me to realize that he is looking at me, I do notice so and give him a nod which he returns, confirming the fact that there was something on his mind only meant for me.

Adjusting my hat before lying down next to him and rolling on my side so that one of my ears would face him and allow him to speak quietly enough so that the Grovyle wouldn't hear any of it, or even realize that someone had spoken anything at all.

Since feral Quilava are mostly carnivores, nature has me equipped with fairly sensitive ears. There haven't been too many times in the past when this feature actually came to my advantage, but I know that this is going to be one of the times when it will.

I blink and stare up at the ceiling where I find even more reminders of the home's living nature, but just as I am about to wonder if the fact of it appearing even more abstruse than when the bright sun was still shining through the pane just above might be caused by the glass reflecting it unevenly, resulting in some parts of the walls appearing darker than others, the voice I had awaited starts whispering into my ear.

"Melissa wasn't supposed to be here." Treek begins as the first thing to say, making me wonder what he might mean by stating the sentence. But I quickly get reminded of the reason as he explains.

"Melissa didn't evolve last time. As a matter of fact: I don't think I saw her at all then."

Knowing that he is talking about his experiences in the parallel reality, I carefully turn my head before attempting to whisper back.

"Can you be sure it's her?" I ask, not being the expert in controlling my voice that Treek is, but hoping that I still managed not to alert the Grovyle.

I turn my head back and await the answer as I see a distorted shadow fly across the wall opposite the window.

'Must have been a bird.' I wonder to myself while realizing that it might have been something completely different, seeing how the light is being distorted the way it is.

"Yeah." Treek responds before pausing for a moment to think about his words. "She knows way too many things only the real Melissa would now. - And while you were asleep, I stepped on her tail and made it look like an accident, just so I could be sure that she wasn't in fact a Zorua."

My brain begins to rattle as possible explanations start flying through it.

'Maybe one of those anomalies caused her to evolve this time.' I wonder as the first thought that comes up, before I push it aside when realizing that the timing wouldn't quite add up, as according to the Grovyle, she evolved before our universe had forked.

'Or this could just be a different timeline altogether, with minor differences such as Treek's sister evolving just around the time we would show up at Laizisso.' Is the next idea that comes to my mind, answering quite a lot of questions but leaving me unsatisfied, mainly because I don't like the idea of living in a different reality and having left an entire world full of feeling, caring and sentient 'mons to their doom, isn't something I could find myself wanting to believe.

That is of course assuming that the theory of multiple realities is correct. Yet there are some things that not even the ancients managed to figure out. – Although you can't say that they didn't try, as they were hoping to prevent their demise by fleeing into a different timeline.

They did learn how to slow speed up and down time in a controlled area, even to the point where it would almost stop completely, allowing for application in many different orbs, as well as being the reason why time seemingly comes to a standstill whenever I'm inside the library. But it didn't help them, as it did nothing but prolong the inevitable, neither giving them more, or less time.

But their end came too soon when the last of their kind died, shortly after they had to learn that reverting the flow of time was an impossible feat for their technology.

They were still working on understanding the science behind the concept of choice, with two opposing theories standing against each other. The theory of choice being nothing but an illusion, a theory I quite honestly hate for the implications it throws into the room. And the theory of every choice being made splitting the stream of time by how ever many choices there are to take. But neither of them proved to make any sense when applied to reality.

I continue to wander while my head is doing its best to throw together explanations that would resolve as many of the details given to me as possible. But while I absentmindedly close my eyes, only one thought remains.

'There is no reason why it should matter.' I conclude. 'I don't think I could grasp what the world would be like if travelling backwards in time was possible. Even if parts of what happened could be explained with a reverse flow of time in some way or another.'

I turn my head back to Treek. And while hearing the weak rustling of what I assume to be a critter coming from the outside, and not even knowing whether or not the Treecko is still awake and listening to me, I decide to still simply whisper my response.

"What's wrong with things being different this time?"


	67. Statue

"Do you know where you are going?" I ask, trying to keep up with the Treecko rushing through the thicket posing no hassles to him what-so-ever, commanding the flora to move aside as he gracefully jumps between two branches that just moved out of his way, only to quickly close the gap as I barely manage to leap through before it closes completely.

"I think I do." Treek responds, pausing between every word to catch his breath as the running must be wearing him down too while still managing to capture the grudge he must still be holding against me for what I did earlier. "But if you keep distracting me, we're bound to get lot again."

But before I can try to get him to slow down, I get a paw stuck on a branch that I know for sure wasn't there a second ago.

Tumbling to the ground and fortunately dislodging the paw before the entire limb would have broken by the momentum I'm carrying, I instead roll against the tree it is connected to and come to a stop with only a few bruises below a thick layer of fur covering them.

With my head pounding a bit, but quickly calming down, I decide not to stand up immediately, savoring the moment of relaxation before Treek notices and I decide to wait for him to come back, wanting to make sure that he sees and realizes what his careless running and meddling with his surroundings has caused.

It only takes a moment and I blow my nose to get rid of a leave that has landed on my face before the Treecko returns to my side.

"Sorry..." He says, still catching his breath while I finally decide to push myself from the group, only to place my left paw in a sticky puddle of resin.

'Yuck.' I think to myself, trying to scratch the sticky substance out of the fur while turning to face my leafy friend still in the process of catching his breath.

"I know we're not out of the woods. Both literally and figuratively." I begin, absentmindedly continuing to clean the gunk out of my fur. "But I think we already managed to shake off Mancerage when we slipped through that cave a couple of kilometers back."

"What are you trying to say?" Treek interrupts, startling me with his sudden exclamation while also doing the same to some of the forest's critters in the form a startled flock of Pidgeys anxiously taking off in the distance.

"Is this good enough for you?" He continues, making it quite apparent that something about my statement is bothering him. "Do you want to stay here and wait for that dragon to catch up with us?"

"No, I..." I try to explain myself, wanting to convince the Grass Type that I'm not planning to put us into further risk. Yet I'm immediately interrupted as Treek continues his rant.

"Because this looks like a good place to get captured to me." He says ironically, finally stopping and giving me a chance to respond.

"I'm not trying to get us captured." I begin, having finished cleaning the resin from my fur and pushing myself up while making sure not to hit another puddle of glue.

"All I'm trying to say is that you should be a little bit warier about how you get through this jungle." I attempt to explain myself before pausing for a moment as it appears that the Treecko is finally started to understand my troubles.

"You taught me so yourself: I'm a Fire Type and you're a Grass Type. And as far either of us knowns, only one has the ability to command the plants so they would stay out of their way, while the other has to endure getting slapped by branches, sticks and leaves once they're no longer being control."

Treek sighs as I finish explaining, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath while I take a look around.

"OK, I admit it." The Grass Type responds, no longer sounding upset and speaking without any aggressions present in his voice. "I guess I forgot that you can't just slip through the branches as easily as I can."

He reopens his eyes and stares me down while I quickly glance at him before returning my gaze at our surroundings.

The trees are tall and even if Mancerage was still following us, it is unlikely that he would spot us through the tick canopy blocking out the sunlight and leaving Treek and me to stand in a dimly lit garden of vines, leaves and branches.

As I peek my ears while Treek does after me and starts looking at our surroundings, I can hear some flowing water nearby. There must be a small trickle, possibly even originating there, that is causing the noise.

"Do you remember where we came from?" Treek suddenly asks as I respond by cringing, not even having to say a word for the Treecko to know that I don't.

"Damn." He simply states while I notice something different through the thick green surrounding us on all sides.

Off in the distance and just behind Treek looking in the opposite direction and above my head, I can see something that doesn't fit the picture.

Unlike everything else, it isn't green or alive at all for that matter. It is a rock, yet not any normal kind of rock at its shape already lets me exclude the possibility of it being of natural origin.

I squint and manage to make out more of it while Treek notices my look of interest and follows my eyes.

"Was that there before?" He asks, while I already find myself passing by him and on my way to investigate the strange object.

"It must have been." I answer, realizing that it is just a figure of speech but still responding to express my curiosity. "It couldn't have just showed up out of nowhere, right?"

I get no answer but realize that Treek is following me while I keep on walking.

Unlike before, he isn't dashing ahead and instead follows me slowly as I pass through tuft of fern only to find myself in a small clearing still completely overshadowed by the gloomy shadows of the thick canopy above.

Still keeping my eyes on the object I saw before, I realize that it is a statue. - Something I wouldn't have expected to see at all.

The forest roof, moving in the weak winds blowing through it above our heads casts dancing specs of light over the overgrown stone standing in the middle of nothing but neatly trimmed grass. And with vines looking to be hundreds of years old having overtaken the stone, I start to wonder why no other trees had claimed the area around the statue that seemingly marks the center of a dome with diameter of at least ten meters.

"I've never seen this..." Treek can't help himself from explaining before adding onto the statement. "And this isn't even that far from Laizisso."

"What does it depict?" I wonder out loudly, slowly stepping around the base of the statue that I know must be resembling one of the many different species of 'mons inhabiting the world.

Appearing as a bipedal, I can make out arms, as well as two wings protruding from its pack, spanning more than twice its body length and making me realize that the creature must be capable of flight. And with a long neck ending on a fierce looking head, it has its mouth wide open to reveal a set of teeth belonging to a carnivore.

The detail put into the stone is quite marvelous, and I have to wonder who the artist was that managed to capture the shear amount of details depicted by the creature standing before me.

"Erm..." Treek starts thinking while I continue to inspect every centimeter of the creature's skin. "I've seen it before, but I can already tell you that it's not home to this part of the world."

As I walk around the statue, I notice claws the size of my head leaving the creatures torso. And only connected with relatively thin arms to its body, I can't help myself but stare in awe at the enormous size of its feet firmly standing their ground on a pedestal almost too small in comparison.

But before I finally look back at Treek, my eyes continue to focus on the pedestal as I notice there being more to it. Part of it is the creature's tail, being a long winded snake reaching out from its behind before abruptly ending on a blunt stump that makes me wonder if the pointy tip may have broken off.

"Now I remember." Treek exclaims as I turn to face him. "Yes: this one's called a Charizard."

"A Charizard." I repeat calmly, looking back at the statue and letting the word roll of my tongue, as if hoping that speaking them would leave my mouth with the same sweet aroma of wonder that this so absolutely out-of-place find has left my mind with.

"Yes." Treek explains. "And it's a Fire Type just like you are."

Still astonished a thought crosses my mind, as I quickly state my concerns to the Treecko. "But you're not saying that this is the creature, right? - I mean: this is just a statue."

"Erm." Treek begins confused over the question before realizing that I know nothing about the different creatures that inhabit the world, too many of which I couldn't even imagine the appearance of. "Yeah. This is just a statue."

"But don't ask me what it's doing here." He continues as my eyes fall back on the broken off tail.

Something about it is absolutely distracting me, as I can't help but to approach it further. Maybe just to inspect the curious error in modeling or maybe because I hope to find the missing part in the waving grasses that the statue is standing in the middle of.

Made out of gray stone in most parts, it somehow manages to feature differently colored rock mixed within, leaving most of the wings a darker hue than the rest of its body, while the stomach and the underside of its tail are of a much brighter gray.

As I approach where the tail's missing tip would go, I notice that the tip isn't missing at all. And while Treek still hasn't paid any attention to the part that managed to wake this much of my curiosity, he asks me a question.

"Do you know something about this?" He asks, almost making it sound like he wasn't planning on stating the question.

"No." I respond quietly and calmly, making myself sound a little bit saddened without ensuring that Treek could even hear me as I arrive on the back end of the statue now standing between Treek and me.

The Grass Type must have finally noticed the incursion. And as he realizes that he can no longer see me, I notice him reappearing in the corner of my eyes still focused on the tip of the tail.

Instead of simply being a cut off piece of rock, it instead features a set of holes leading down the length of the Charizard's tail.

"Is there something about this you know?" He asks again, possibly not even having heard my previous answer.

Yet my voice falls flat as I realize that I'm no longer over control of my body.

Not for the first time, I can feel my ember having taken control of my body, navigating my every movement while locking me out of the control center of our vessel.

Yet unlike how I've seen it act before, it hasn't emerged because of emotions such as anger or hate, or even curiosity. It almost feels like it is acting out of experience. As if there was something it knows but isn't telling me about, yet still is going to do with or without my permission.

I want to tell Treek to step back, thinking that this might simply be the calm before the storm that the fire still calmly bubbling inside of my core could start unleashing against the poor Grass Type and our surroundings any moment.

Yet my expectations aren't met, as Treek arrives at my side just when a weak flame escape my muzzle.

It isn't directed at the Treecko who still must have notices the sudden presence of fire, causing him to instinctively jump back a few steps while yelping in surprise.

Instead it is directed at the holes at the end of the tail. And just as the flame reaches the vents, I regain control over my body and stumble from not having expected to regain control this soon or sudden.

I manage to hang on before I would have hit the ground and as I push myself up, this time without the inconvenience of pushing against a puddle of resin, my eyes immediately land on the tail of the stony image of a Fire Type that Treek and I had stumbled upon.

The fire is still there and the tail of the creature is lit, its previously blunt and sudden edge covered by a dancing flame forming an upwards pointing cone.

I realize that I, or rather my ember, found the piece that had broken off, finalizing the picture that the artist surely had envisioned when they set out to create this beautiful depiction of one of the most impressive beings that I would hopefully have a chance of meeting as time would move on.

"How did you know to do that?" Treek asks as I resume staring at the happy flame dancing on the statue's tail.

I want to answer that it wasn't me. That it was some instinct that my ember was overcome with. Or that maybe it was something I knew all along and was given to me at birth.

But instead of opening my mouth to explain all that I managed to understand about what had just happened, it is the statue that grabs both Treek's and my attention as its solid stone begins moving.


	68. Entrance

Not cracking the stone or breaking the beautiful shape, the statue instead begins lifting its body while sending small tremors through the ground.

I watch as some of the smaller pebbles surrounding us shift with each tremor, while the leaves above rustle angrily at the unwelcomed interrupted to their peaceful existence.

Yet the motion continues just as fluently as it started. And just as the Charizard uncoils its tail, the seemingly living rock takes a step back before slowly relaxing the limb still carrying the flame, letting it form a ring around a newly revealed hole located directly underneath where it had sat previously.

The Charizard re-opens its mouth, almost as if wanting to tell us something. But before the Stone could surprise us with yet another unexplainable feat that I could only describe as being pure magic, the fire vanishes, leaving me and a Grass Type standing directly behind and to the right of me absolutely mesmerized as our eyes fall on the hole it had been covering up.

"How did you know to do that, Quill?" The Treecko exclaims immediately, both excitement and confusion strongly present in his voice.

But still mesmerized by what just happened myself, I fail to realize that he had spoken to me until a moment later when I can hear the Grass Type moving closer and restate his question one last time.

"I..." I begin to stutter while forcing myself to take my eyes off of the hole but still fail to pay any attention to the question that was given to me.

My mind is racing and filled with much more important questions. And while one them too inquires how I knew what to do, I can't shake the question of what it even is that my ember's knowledge had lead us to uncover.

'Just what could be down there?' I wonder before quickly moving on to the next question. 'Could it have something to do with why I'm even here.'

Pondering the thought for a moment, I realize that I had yet to take the time to wonder about my own purpose in this world. - To wonder why I'm here or how and what caused me to arrive in the first place.

'Maybe this was meant to happen.' I try to explain the confusion away. 'As far as I know, this could be part of what I was send here for. - After all: something inside of me must have recognized that statue.'

Taking another look at the face of the statue, I can see no motion or any other indication of it being alive at all. It still has its mouth wide open, as if trying to answer Treek's and my questions, but failing as some invisible force is preventing it from speaking.

I knew that it is just a statue. - An inanimate object. And finally taking my eyes off of it and finding the time to comprehend Treek's question, I realize that in some way he is wondering about the exact same thing. Yet if I knew why, what I assume to have been my ember, knew what to do, pretty much all of my questions would be gone.

'All except for one'. I come to conclude. 'Where is it that this will lead us to?'

"Quill?" The Grass Type states in a concerned tone. "Are you OK?"

Taking no time to respond to his previous question, knowing that all I could tell him is how I'm just as stumped about what had transpired as he is, I decide to skip ahead a few steps in the dialog. And ignoring his latest question and even skipping the next few he would have probably stated, I quickly state my own response.

"We have to go down there!" I hastily shout, not even taking care to control the volume of my voice, causing me to quickly be scolded by a nearby forest critter dictating his discontent by shouting at me in his native language consisting of nothing but an angry cry.

The statement was actually meant as a question, but considering that I wasn't going to accept any response other than a clear and definite yes, I find that I couldn't have expressed myself better when considering how urgent the wish is to me.

And acting on that urgency, I turn back to the hole and start heading towards it without even waiting for a response.

I can't image what must be going through the mind of the poor and confused Treecko right now. Neither knowing what had happened, nor what was going to happen, it must feel like a dream to him. But while I already have my mind set on finding out the answer to both of our questions, Treek does not appear to be quite as content with my decision as I am.

"Wait Quill." He tries to stop me in a concerned tone while I take no heed of his warning and already find myself standing on the edge looking down into the darkness.

Probably due to the canopy and the placement of the statue, no light manages to shine down directly, leaving it to be nothing but a dark and uninvitingly looking abyss that could lead anywhere for all I know.

"Do you know what you are doing?" Treek asks again as I see him walking up to me out of the corner of my eye. But while I do notice him this time, I'm too focused on something else.

They have fallen on the Charizard leaning overtop the hole. But not only that, they have made contact with the giant's eyes of stone looking back at me. And while I know that they couldn't have moved at all since the statue came to a standstill after unveiling what it had been concealing from us before, I can't shake the feeling of them still watching me, seeing every though I conjure, while judging me by all the actions I took and will ever take.

I slowly manage to take my eyes off of them, with the image of them staring into my soul still fresh in my mind. But while continuously telling myself that despite everything that I had already witnessed, this still has to be nothing but the inanimate object it to most definitely is, I can help but feel uneasy.

'It's made out of stone and nothing more.' I tell myself, trying to imagine the artist that had created this image of a creature as fierce and strong as this. How proud he would be of himself if he knew about the impression it had left on me.

The idea that the identity of this statue probably has something to do with what triggered my ember to unlock its mysteries quickly crosses my mind. But while I can't help myself but to keep the thought around, I manage to distract myself as I notice what appears to be a ladder for a brief moment when a gust of wind blows through the canopy above, allowing a small speck of sunlight to hit its first step and reveal its presence.

I take a look at Treek, wanting to tell him what my plan is going to be. But as I take the time to send him a quick glance, I can see it in his expression that no further words need to be stated.

Unlike what I expected him to portrait, I can see it in his eyes that he is willing to trust either me or my ember, or whoever it is that is influencing my judgement.

But while I have no idea about whether it is my ember still bubbling from excitement deep within my core, or my reasonable mind racing from all the question left in of answers, only one action is left to be taken as I find myself having no troubles understanding how a ladder works, before turning my back to the statue still be staring at me.

The first step is tough, and after a few failed attempts at setting a foot on the wooden plank, I momentarily managed to get a glimpse at when the speck of light him it, I can finally feel it underneath my paw.

It is quite sturdy wood. And unlike one would have expected from a piece of wood that must have been surrounded by nothing but darkness and moisty walls of dirt surrounding it, it doesn't feel wet at all while still not giving the appearance of being mounted recently.

"How far is the way down?" Treek asks me from above while I manage to get ahold of the second step much easier that the first one.

"I don't know." I respond, almost as if out of instinct while deciding not to take a pause from finding the third step and identifying it even more easily that the second.

"Well..." Treek responds. "Whatever the case might be, I guess I'll head after you."

His statement must have been a trigger as I tightly hold onto the step I stood on only moments ago, when the ground begins to shake.

Instantly feeling sickened by the unwelcomed interrupting to my concentration, my ember is just as upset about it as me, while I am left to keep it calm while still having to focus on not accidentally letting go if the ladder.

But my concentration is short lived, as there are too many things distracting me. The same critter that had scolded me before is shouting again, alongside Treek yelling real words at me.

But I'm too distracted to comprehend what he is saying.

Yet some untrained part of my mind breaks loose and starts pondering unnecessary thoughts, distracting me even father.

'I guess the common tongue does have its drawbacks.' It begins spewing forth ideas. 'If Treek would speak in more ~natural~ words, I could leave the task of comprehending his statements to my instincts.'

But as if having the capability of seeing the future, the untamed part of my mind gets its wish fulfilled as a sudden shouts coming from the Treek manages to distract me fully.

Maybe it is my ember that has once again taken control over my body. Maybe it is still my mind that has lost control on its own due to the overwhelming sensation of the ground shaking.

But whatever the case might be, I open my eyes to take a look above.

The light is gone, and while I could still clearly hear the Treecko's words a moment ago before being replaced by a scream of fright, they are now dampened, non-understandable, and continue to grow weaker.

I blink, as if trying to check whether or not my eye lids had obeyed my previous orders and are really open. But just as I notice that the shaking has stopped while my ember slowly relaxed and returns to previous state, I realize that the ladder is nowhere to be found. – There is no wooden plank to be felt below my paws.

And as the idea that I must have let go of the ladder in the heat of the moment settles in, I also come to realize that I am plummeting towards the bottom of something I had previously described as an abyss.


	69. Shadows and Recollections

I rip open my eyes to find myself somewhere totally different.

Distorted lights are dancing in a wall in front of me while I find myself lying on a wooden floor in front. With a blue hue and a lot of dark spots between the dancing embers, I find myself mesmerized by the sight before realizing that I had just awoken from what felt like a dream, but was another memory of my earlier memories.

I take a look around and can immediately confirm the fact as my eyes fall on two Cyndaquils lying in front of a berry bush that appears to no longer be hold any of its sweet offerings to the sentients that had picked it clean.

Directly next to me, I see the green hue of a Treecko, shrouded by the dim moonlight falling through the window above my head.

'Seeing this memory now couldn't have been a coincidence.' I quickly explain to myself. 'Not at this point. - Not after I forgot almost all everything about it. - And most definitely not here and now, with the library being in whatever danger it's supposed to be in, and me being this close to where the statue should still be at.'

Some other part of my mind tries to keep me from worrying too much about it, wanting to make sure that I could get the peace and quiet that is required to finally regain the ability of summoning an entrance and answering the questions once and for all.

But while I wouldn't have had any of it under normal circumstance, I notice something else that manages to distract me even more.

I know that Treek's sister is nearby. Something I can confirm as I take a look to my left to see her body peacefully slumbering while being huddled on top of a pile of grass below the other window.

The thought that this is how Treek too would look like one day crosses my mind for a moment, almost making me envious as I had to learn that my evolution isn't going to feature any new body parts like the stylish leaves serving the creature they are connected to with the ability of dash though any thicket no matter how thick, and doing so faster than any other Grass Type.

But this isn't what diverts my attention either, as I realize that there is movement coming from the shadows across the room and near the front door, which I assume to be open as indicated by some light originating from there.

In the shadows I see a figure standing. Shrouded in darkness, the movements I noticed only moments ago have ceased, almost as if it realized that it had noticed it.

'Who could that be?' I wonder to myself, being pretty confident that I'm not just imagining seeing it, but knowing that there is a chance, no matter how small it might be, that what I'm seeing is nothing but an illusion brought forth by my experiences during the past days and the dimly lit room.

Clouds must have moved in front of the moon while I was asleep. And while I continue to keep my eyes focused on where I last saw movement, straining my eyes to tell me more about my surroundings, I slowly begin to make out what it is.

It takes a few more moments, but after a short period of time, I lose all doubt about something really being there, as well as begin just as sure that whatever it is, it could not mean anything good.

Yet I have no idea what I should do now, given the new information that I just uncovered.

'Maybe I should launch myself at it?' I begin considering the consequences, hoping that it would be in my right to do so, especially seeing how I'm nothing but a guest and that there could be a chance of the newcomer having full permission to enter.

But the main reason that leads me to have second thoughts about attacking without asking, is the attention that the act would carry with it, putting me and the team in the spotlight of the whole town.

'We've just got here.' I mentally sigh to myself as a gust of wind moves the branches outside, deflecting the light in such a way as to send a small speck of it towards the figure.

Yet where the light would have passed straight through, if there was nothing there, I see a glimpse of a face. It is dark, featuring a gray skin bordering on what would be considered black. But through the darkness, I managed to spot two red eyes staring directly at me.

It is a bipedal, that much I can say for sure. But while this does narrow it down by a lot, excluding many of the different species roaming the planet, there are still too many to say for sure.

Absentmindedly I blink. And while it wasn't the time I closed my eyes for only a brief moment of time since awaking and noticed the peculiar shape, the 'mon intruding on the property of Treek's family must have been just as aware of having been detected as I am of it really being there. Because the next picture that my eyes send me no longer features its shape.

Light can still be seen coming from the open door, yet there is no shadow standing next to it. And I know that I have to confirm my observations, as I don't even know how much longer the night will be.

Remembering that as a Fire Type, I can harness the power of the flame, capable of providing warmth and in this case most importantly light, I decide to reveal my wakeful state by sitting up.

I can see my own shadow on the wall separating the hallway that I had slept in from the sleeping quarters of Treek's parents, as the clouds that had previously been shrouding the village in darkness must have just passed the moon, allowing it to continue reflecting its light down upon the darker portion of the planet.

But knowing that I have no time to dream about nonsense, like my own shadow on the wall, especially now that I revealed the fact of me being fully awake and aware of my surroundings to the intruder who I still can't say for sure might be present, I shake my head for a moment before wasting no more time and summoning a weak candle in my right paw.

Just as I'm about to take a look at my surroundings, I notice a gust of wind rushing into the building, even managing to spread some of the grasses describing Melissa's bed over the floor.

The wind blows out the fire and I'm back to standing in darkness, yet being fully awake and knowing that there is something wrong.

'There is no logical explanation for such a strong wind to just randomly occur out of nowhere.' I growl to myself, not daring to produce any sounds out of fear of initiating a fight I could not possible be ready for without knowing my opponent.

My ember finally realizes the danger that our body might be in. And as it fully awakes, allowing me to feel the heat starting to spread into my limbs, I find the confidence to take my next action.

Other than the gust of wind that had managed to put out my fire, I notice nothing else that would indicate any threat being present.

And not wanting to gamble away the chance of preventing a fight by lighting another candle before my ember is still not fully awake, I instead decide to address the issue directly.

"Show yourself!" I shout growlingly, managing to sound quite threatening, considering that these are the first words I said since waking up.

Yet no answer reaches my ears, as the darkness remains just as calm and motionless as it appeared since the shadow vanished, only interrupted by the occasional rustling of the other trees outside, their leaves casting shadows of on the walls while forming mesmerizing figures, detailing anything you could imagine them to resemble while looking at it.

But my shouting has managed to grab the attention of other, more well-known creatures, as I get a response when Treek starts grumbling annoyed, after I had apparently managed to wake him.

"Come out and tell me what you want!" I growl again, remaining focused on the darkness and hoping that I wasn't just making a fool out of myself by shouting at thin air.

'Even if there is nobody there', I convince myself. 'Even if I'm just shouting into the darkness, I still have to make sure. And whatever the outcome might be, I'm sure that Quill can easily explain his actions.'

But just as before, a few moments pass without me getting another answer from the calm and quite shadows haunting the unlit portions of the house.

"What are you shouting at?" Treek moans, obviously not having been awake to see the intruder when it most definitely was still there and making me lose more and more confidence about it still being present.

And slowly beginning to accept defeat while realizing that I had in fact been shouting at a shadow for the past few minutes, I decide to confirm my suspicions by attempting to summon another flame.

The fire appears just as it always does. And with no further gusts of wind threatening to extinguish its breath, the darkness finally vanishes to reveal nothing out of the ordinary.

The front door is still opened. - That much I can say for certain. But quickly glancing around the room, I can see nothing that would indicate anyone hiding out of sight or in one of the remaining shadows.

I do however notice Melissa clenching her eyes shut, as if trying to ignore the decently bright light that has suddenly appeared to rob her of her dreams.

I know that she is awake and that it won't be long now before I have to explain what I saw, knowing that she won't take me serious and rightfully push it off as apart of Quill's condition.

I sigh audibly and clench my fists to extinguish the light. But I know that the damage has already been done and that the night has ended for all of us. Yet I'm not mad, considering how much sleep everyone, especially myself after sleeping through the entire afternoon got yesterday.

"What were you shouting at?" Treek restates his question as I turn to see him being fully awake while staring at me with his big yellow eyes.

More movement can be noticed coming from next to him, as I can count the three bodies of Cari, Tolan and Nina just where I would have expected them to resign starting to move.

The sun starts rising as I open my mouth to answer Treek, indicated by a glimpse of reddish yellow tinting the shadows of the leaves dancing on the wall.

"I thought there was something there." I try to explain, not knowing what else to say before finding that the more I think about what I witnessed, the more it just seems surreal to me. Like something that was just a dream and hadn't happened at all.

"Why is the door open?" Melissa asks from behind me, completely dismissing everything I my claim so far while not even commenting on it at all.

"I don't mind any of you going for a morning walk, but next time could you please consider closing the door so the wind doesn't ruin my nest again?"

I look at the Treecko sitting next to me, who still appears a bit sleepy and quickly glances at me as if to make sure that I was listening as well.

"Hey Melissa." He exclaims, sounding fully awake and addressing his sister who immediately turns to face him just after having closed the door.

"Ya?" She asks back in obvious confusion.

"Did last night feel kind of strange to you as well?" He asks, sounding a bit concerned while the Grovyle responds.

"Well..." She begins. "Kind of. But then again: it's been a while since we've slept in the same room."

"I guess." Treek responds before changing his tone and continuing to talk.

"Do you remember that thing we found when we were still going to school." He asks, stating a question seemingly not connected to anything. " - The thing we swore to never tell anyone about, so it could be preserved?"

I think I realize what Treek is doing. Because even though he had told me before that the was quite confident that the Grovyle truly is his sister, he must still have some doubt on his mind about it really being her.

"Erm..." Melissa states. "What are you getting at?"

After giggling for a moment, the Grovyle quickly continues. "I mean: that seemed kind of disconnected. We're you guys worried about an intruder a second ago?"

"I know it seems kind of weird for me to bring up now." Treek continues lightheartedly while I assume that he is just playing an act.

And while I don't know what it is that he could be referring to, seeing how it must be something both him and his sister swore to never tell anyone, leaving me to not know if there even is such a thing as a secret he had kept from me, what I do know is that I should stay alert and ready for a fight, in case it is revealed that the Grovyle had been playing us all along.

"But there's something about it, that I need to discuss with you." Treek continues before quickly stating what he needs to talk about.

"I think what we saw might be important to Quill." He states, surprising me with his statement as I would have simply expected him to demand that his sister tell him some part of the secret only she could know.

Because even if she isn't really who she claims to be, and even if she is just an imposter who got all of her information from a psychic after having him extract it from the real Melissa, there are some things that not even some of the best can access. Some memories that are so hidden that their victim may have even forgotten them.

One of the best example are memories that you are ashamed of. But be aware, that these do not include memories that you constantly think about. - It's about weak links. The information that is disconnected from your regular, active brain. Not the things that you wish you could forget, but the things you did actually managed to forget until someone reminded you of them.

Such as this memory must be, considering how I assume that Treek probably just got reminded of it because of being back home.

The thought of the nearly being each other's ago reminds of how it probably won't be much longer before I will witness the Grass Type evolve, actually making me wonder why it hasn't happened yet when considering how may seasons he must have already lived through.

The smile has vanished from the Grovyle's face, and the Grass Type is in deep thought before finally responding to her brother.

"You really think that we should show him?" She asks, either knowing what she is talking about, which could still be possible if she was an imposter and if the real Melissa worked differently than her very much real brother Treek, or simply acting as if she knew.

"I mean we've tried looking for it a couple of times, but never found it again. Besides: we promised to never even mention it."

She narrows her eyes before continuing in an annoyed voice. "A promise you already broke by just bringing it up now, I might add."

"We never agreed to not bring it up before anyone." Treek explains himself. "We only promised to never let mum and dad know, so as to not get scolded for not staying on the paths..."

Melissa sighs and Treek continues to stare at her while my interest remains peeked as I Tolan next to me, listening in just as interested as myself.

"Whatever." She dismissing his point. "If you really want to try find it again, you don't have to get my approval to go exploring with your friend."

"Are you sure we're talking about the same thing?" Treek asks, tilting his head slightly while I take a peek to see Nina and Cari patiently listening to the conversation between the two Grass Types while still lying where they had slept for the night.

My eyes lock with Nina's, but no thoughts are transmitted before I divert my gaze back to the Grovyle.

"Wait." She states, appearing quite displeased. "Do you still think we only found it because I was with you?"

Continuing with the same shocked voice and not giving Treek a chance to respond, I begin wondering what it could even be that they are talking about.

"Don't you remember what happened last time?" She asks, almost shouting the question as if she was scolding a newborn cub for breaking a cup. "I only remember falling to my death and ending up in the middle of that crystal lake. – And I don't even remember how we got out of there afterwards."

Nodding towards me for a moment while sending me an angry glare, I feel quite threatened, but decide to remain and continue listening to the two of them going on.

The sun has fully risen by now and the room is getting flooded with the warmth of a new day's sun.

I can already tell it is going to be one of the hotter days of summer and that both winter and spring have been left behind in a more equatorial region like the one Laizisso resides in.

"Listen Melissa." Treek tries to convince his sister as she falls silent and grants him a chance to explain himself. "To be totally honest, and I know this sounds strange, but for the longest time I didn't even remember it happening."

The Treecko takes a short pause and collects his thoughts while I notice some of the anger vanishing from the Grovyle's face. "Until last night, you could have asked me about what had happened and I would have looked at you funny without having a clue as to what you were referring to."

"And believe me: in all the years since it happened, I didn't think of it once. There was not one point at which I was reminded of it, but last night I was reliving that moment in which we fell. But there was more to it. I remember more details. – Things that are quite important to me and Quill."

The anger has completely vanished from Melissa's face and I realize that my previous assessment of this just being Treek testing his sister was wrong, as what they stumbled over must have been something big.

I think about the shadow I thought I saw when I woke up again. And while I wonder if it could by any chance have had something to do with whatever it is that must have happened to Treek, I fail to make any rhyme of what that could be.


	70. The Plan

"But the thing is." Treek continues after a few moments have passed. "Last night I had a dream about it. - And like I just said: I had completely forgotten it ever happening. But now there is nothing else that I can think about."

"But back then we did something wrong." He continues. "A mistake that might be connected to what is happening right now."

"What do you mean?" Melissa asks, stealing the words right out of my mouth.

'What are you talking about, Treek?' I want to ask, already feeling my mind racing to list the possible explanations. And with only one managing to stick out from the rest, I realize that there is only one thing going wrong right now. Only one thing that could possibly cause him to risk revealing too much about me just to show it to me.

"A lot more than you might think." Treek states, just adding to the confusion of his sister. "And we need to go there together. - You know just as well as I do that it somehow made us forget where it was, and the one time we did encounter it, we were together."

'What it he describing?' I wonder, realizing that even the minor details he has mentioned thus far would entail some technology that should not be available to my knowledge.

Melissa doesn't respond and simply stares at her brother looking back at her. Their eyes are fixated on each other and neither of them dares to move a muscle.

"If I come with you..." Melissa begins after a while, speaking each word very slowly while barely moving her mouth with Treek sticking to his frozen gaze.

"If I decide to partake in this plan, then you should know that I think this is a mistake..."

Treek still doesn't respond and the Grovyle turns to look at the kids before facing me.

"Quill is it, right?" She asks me, not waiting for an answer that I wasn't even prepared to give before simply continuing in the same slow and serious out voice.

"If we really take this trip, I suggest you leave the kids behind."

Taking another look at the three younger ones, I choose to follow it as she continues now facing them.

"From what I remember, Treek and I barely managed to escape. As a matter of fact: I don't remember anything of what happened before we were back in the forest. And I assume Treek doesn't either."

Turning back to me and slowing returning to speaking in a normal speed while I follow her eyes, the Grovyle continues.

"And I don't want them to end up like we did. Lost and alone in the dark, with no idea where of where home is, and no idea how they got there."

I know that I could never agree to leaving the kids behind in the paws of a 'mon I'd only meet just before I'd have to hand them over, no matter how dangerous the Grass Type is attempting to make the journey sound.

Maybe it's the things that I witnessed during the course of the last week. Maybe it's just the way I've always been. Maybe I'm just being overprotective of them, not daring to trust anyone I don't know. Or maybe I'm just raising them the way that Lydia would have wanted me to raise them. - With tender loving care, never daring to take my eyes off of them for too long.

I take another look at the two of them standing with their fox-like friend. And even if their eyes weren't so blatantly begging for me to let them come, I know that there is no conceivable situation in which I would let them out of my sight anytime soon.

"No..." I begin formulating my response as I notice that the Grovyle has approached me as she followed my eyes to look at the three youngest of us.

"Too much has gone wrong. And too many bad things have happened to the souls of those I care for most. And too many times have I failed to sense the danger of being deceived by those who's promises I deemed worthy of my trust."

Quickly turning to face the Grass Type, a motion for which she takes a moment to follow up, I continue.

"You have no idea what I witnessed. - Not just over the last couple of days, but during the course of my entire live."

I know that I'm on the verge of saying too much, as too many of the points I want to make not only apply to Quill, but affect the real me. Cyder, who has lost his wife, some, if not most of his best friends after a life time of bad decisions.

It is just too real, and I can feel tears powered by the same force of truth appearing in my eyes, blurring the image of the Grovyle as the morning sun slowly begins enticing her in its rays.

I swallow and sob silently, even though I know that there is no point in trying to hide my emotions. But not wanting to fall into one of the traps that my emotions had set up for my reasonable mind, only to have my ember take control over my actions, thereby leaving me to act out another one of my fallouts, I grab ahold of myself and push forth by stating my decision.

"We're all going whether you like that or not. And whatever it is that Treek wants to show me, there is going to be a total of six souls that will be witnessing whatever it is."

Adjusting my hat and feeling quite relieved that it is still right on top of my head where it is supposed to be, I turn away from Melissa before walking over to the Tolan, Cari and Nina.

I can still feel the Grovyle's eyes staring at me while she probably doesn't know how to respond. - Maybe she feels sorry for me. Maybe she feels sorry for suggesting that we'd leave the kids behind.

Maybe she isn't even looking at me anymore and is instead focused on Treek who hasn't said a word since, and for all I know might still be staring at her motionlessly.

But whatever the case might be, I feel quite certain that whatever the day is going to show me, it will be much more important that all the hi-jinx that I could possibly dream up myself.

While leaning down to reach the two Cyndaquils still sitting next to their Zorua friend, I tenderly pet each of them on their head while finally wishing each of them the "Good morning" I had been withholding since waking up.

"So..." Melissa speaks again, while I refrain from turning around before realizing that she isn't even addressing me when she continues to talk to her brother.

"Since you appear to have already planned out the entire day, what's the next point on your list?"

I turn around to see Treek absentmindedly glimpsing at me before he turns to answer his sister's question.

"We should pack some supplies and head out immediately." He states. "You know just as well as I do that we'll probably need all the time we can get for finding it. And there's no telling how far we'll have to walk this time."

I can see Melissa nodding towards her brother before taking his bag and heading for the front door, probably to pick up some supplies from their storage which I assume to still be located between the roots of the house.

But seeing how Treek and I are once again alone, I quickly grab the chance to speak to him without restrictions, only be immediately interrupted before saying a single word when Treek realizes this first and begins talking.

"Before you say anything." He begins. "You should know that I would gladly tell you all about this thing we're going to show you. But the thing is: I don't remember what it was that we found. All I do remember is some sort of lake filled with crystals and that it could very well be connected to this whole library-danger thing."

I quickly nod. And seeing how I'm given a chance to talk myself, I immediately state my response.

"Got it." I answer. "At first I thought that you were testing her to make sure she is really your sister."

"What?" Treek answers, not sure what to make of my statement. "I've told you before: that is most definitely Melissa."

"Yeah yeah." I interrupt him before he can go into a rant, seeing how we probably only have seconds left before Melissa would return. "It's just that I have the feeling of something strange going on. Melissa evolving, me seeing that shadow earlier this morning."

After unintendedly pausing for a moment without really wanting Treek to interrupt me, I manage to continue speaking. "But the thing that left me on edge is that I can't explain any part of it."

"I've been feeling it, too." Treek responds. "Ever since getting here I've been getting the vibe of something happening just behind our backs." He responds with concern. "Which is also another reason why I don't want to stay in town for the day."

"But I can promise you that that's really Melissa." He finishes talking, not leaving me any time to respond as the front door flies open from the Grovyle returning.

She appears angry and is holding something in her other paw, forcing me to narrow my eyes in an attempt to make it out and dismiss the concerns Treek had brought up to me.


	71. Gambled Fate

"Treek..." The Grovyle begins in an upset tone while I cringe mentally at the thought of her having overheard our conversation. "Do you care to explain to me how you got ahold of this?"

I squint my eyes while Treek appears to have already identified the object his Sister is holding in her right paw, it takes me another moment before I realize that she is holding my broken exploration emblem and my hearts starts beating faster.

'I've completely forgotten that that was still in there.' I think to myself, cringing again while visible trying to swallow some of my anxiety.

"I..." Treek begins, having just as little of an idea as to how to explain the object without revealing too much.

"I don't care what you're doing nowadays, Treek." Melissa repeats. "But I'm not going to be an accomplice to your crimes."

I swallow again, as I realize that it is going to be me who will have to intervene and keep the situation from going out of paw. Yet while the Grovyle continues her rant, I fail to come up with something that would sound legitimate enough to regain her trust.

Yet with the new threat unravelling itself, I find no more time to continue wondering about my concerns about someone stabbing me in the back, as that someone would be Melissa if I decided to do nothing.

"I'm going to take this to the major and let him decide what to do next." She continues while angrily squeezing the badge, further damaging the already twisted wings and pressing the button, causing it to momentarily and unbeknownst to her glow weakly, as she had just set the device to transport anyone using it to where she is standing.

"No." I manage to collect my thoughts and speak calmly after finally having come up with a plan to convince her into ignoring the fact of ever seeing it.

"No." I repeat not looking at her, even though the Grass Type has already fallen silent and had turned her head towards me with an empty expression. "You're not going to do that. Because that isn't Treek's."

I pause for a second to look up at her and analyze her reaction, yet I can't see any motion that could tell my something about her response to my intervention.

But as she appears to still be paying attention to me, I continue on the path I had just decided to take.

"Yes, it is an exploration emblem. And yes: they're strictly forbidden."

Pausing again for a moment to see if she is still willing to hear me out, I feel like she already knows what I'm about to say next.

"But as you might have noticed, it's broken and inoperable." I explain before immediately following up on my statement. "But that isn't what it is to me. Because I see more than just a broken piece of unusable equipment. What you are holding and only further breaking is a part of my past, and a part of who I am."

Melissa turns to take another look at the object. It has since stopped glowing, and as if to assert my claims of it being nothing but a broken piece of equipment, I know that that is everything her novice eyes could possibly see in it.

I notice the light reflecting of the golden wings, despite their broken state shining brightly in the glorious hue of polished metal, even managing to remind me of the white light one could witness if the device was still fully operational and hadn't probably just exhausted its last bits of power.

"You may have already guessed it." I continue, causing Melissa to snap back at me. "But it is a memento to some of the things I lost."

That probably not even being too much of a lie, her face is no longer empty and I see that she begins to understand me. But while I feel bad for having to hide the fact that I might still be able to repair it, I can see that she is feeling guilty for not considering such a reasonable explanation.

She takes a step towards me, doing her best not to look me in the eyes while I remain fixated on hers. And a moment later I find the emblem safely in one of my paws, followed by the Grovyle sobbing before underlining her emotions with a weak and barely understandable "Sorry", only meant for my ears.

I look up to see her having returned to the door while Treek sends her a look of sorrow she would never realize was given to her.

He wants to tell her the same thing that I wish I could say, but just as he knows that he couldn't possibly state a response that would make her feel better while still keeping our cover intact, I get a feeling of deja vu as I realize that I had just repeated one of my biggest mistakes.

'I just took advantage of her.' I think to myself as I take another look at the emblem while the guilt begins to spread through every part of my body, only amplified by what the device was supposed to stand for.

'I just put her in danger.' I repeat to myself. 'Why didn't I listen to her? She obviously doesn't want herself or her parents associated with someone who uses emblems, much less someone like me.'

'It doesn't matter what Treek wants me to think of his family. - She's the polar opposite of him.' I continue wondering while briefly being interrupted as another sob fills the air, followed by the Grovyle speaking up.

"So do you guys want to go on this trip or not?" She asks, probably having had to force herself into managing to speak the entire sentence without interrupting herself.

Treek takes another look at me and our eyes meet while I notice Nina, followed by the kids walk between the two of us on her way to the front door.

He is obviously saddened, and while I can't be sure that he has even realized that I came to understand Nina not being the most unwelcomed 'mon in the village, but me, he is the first to look away from me, only turning around one last time while heading for the door and leaving me to my own thoughts and to silently follow him with a broken emblem, that I got for nothing but lying, cheating and gambling away the safety of others hidden in my left paw.

It is early in the morning, and with the sun not having been up for more than an hour I trot next to the Treecko heading after the kids, while his sister is leading the group with a considerable gap between her and the rest of us.

It wasn't like Treek or the kids hadn't tried to keep up with her, attempting to close the gap on multiple occasion. But unlike them, I knew from the beginning that she wasn't going to let them anytime soon.

The town is already behind us and while I was deep in though, occasionally glimpsing at the broken emblem still hidden between my claws, from time to time attempting to distract myself by compiling a list of things I'd need and had to do in order to repair it, I don't even take a look at what is really wrong with it and spent most of the time regretting ever coming to Laizisso.

"Treek?" I try to gain the attention of my friend after pulling myself together and managing to look away from the illegal piece of metal that had just caused me to deceive someone.

It used to be a sign of truth and honor, meant to represent your dedication to law and order and help you to uphold it. Your will to do anything for those in need. But all that meant nothing when it was giving to someone as undeserving as me.

I may have done my part in saving a few 'mons here and there when the eastern mountain guilds still existed. But all of that means nothing in comparison to all the souls that were lost just to save this one remaining that is me.

There is so much I did wrong in the past that I now regret. Yet despite all of the wrong I've already did, I have still failed to learn from any of it. Repeating the mistake in a context growing more and more inexcusable each time.

"Treek?" I repeat without even checking whether or not he heard me the first time, as my eyes have wandered back to staring at the price of my deeds.

"Yeah?" He responds carefully, maybe wishing not to upset me further, or maybe feeling the same regret haunting me.

I know that I shouldn't talk about the true me, Cyder, in public. Yet I can't help myself from forgetting the basic principles about convincingly playing the role of someone that I'm not.

"We've made a mistake coming here." I speak, still at least managing to remind myself not to speak too loudly, with apart of my logical mind actually feeling happy about the fact that our single greatest threat Melissa has decided to stay as far away from me and her brother as she possibly can.

Treek doesn't respond to my statement, not even questioning it by asking the obligatory inquiry of wanting to know what it is that we did wrong. Maybe he already knows what I'm going to say, or maybe he is hoping that he didn't.

"All the time we spent to get here." I continue. "All the strength and energy we put into overcoming all the obstacles."

I take a short pause before speaking out the main point I want to address. "We never taken a moment to wonder if we would even be welcome here."

I take a moment to collect my thoughts and shortly look at the Treecko walking next to me.

Out of the corner of my eyes I can see Cari once again riding on Nina's back, while Tolan happily walks next to the black haired fox carrying his sister.

'They're doing it right.' I find myself mentally sighing before noticing that Treek isn't looking at me and instead has his eyes pointing straight forward, maybe looking at his sister, maybe looking at the kids or the road, but probably not even paying attention to what it is that he sees.

I turn away and try to follow his example by attempting to focus on Cari enjoying herself on Nina's back, who seems to enjoy the presence of her friend just as much if not even more.

"We did nothing wrong." Treek finally answers as I decide to wait for more as to not interrupt him by immediately rejecting his response.

"Us coming here was the right thing to do. And I can promise you that each one of us is more than welcome to stay here for as long as we want."

"You can't know that." I interrupt him despite my previous decision not to. "And based on what I'm getting from your sister, she'd much rather not have us here at all, much less if she knew that the risk we pose to her is far greater than that of someone smuggling emblems."

Treek doesn't take too long to respond to me as he immediately turns to face me.

"Yes, I do know that." He begins, making is point quite clear as he continues. "She's my sister and I think I know her better than you do. And if there is one thing that my parents taught me well, it's that the only thing more important than your own wellbeing is that of others. And the will to do anything in the fight for said good."

He didn't have to restate his view on the world, as this isn't even the first time he explained them to me. But despite all the times I saw him act on this moral. And despite all the time I tried to explain the flaws in his process of thought, he still continues to stick to it like a Khangaskhan's kid to his mother's pouch.

"Whatever it is that your parent did to have to see the world with those eyes." I begin, choosing my words carefully as to not offend him. "It most definitely didn't have the same kind of impact on your sister."

It takes a while before Treek responds. And distracting my mind by having it wait for his response, I take the time to look around.

We haven't yet reached the denser parts of the woods, which I assume our journey will eventually force us to head into. And I know that if it wasn't for all the things plaguing my mind, I would be able to enjoy the scenery much more.

I can hear a stream gurgling somewhere close by, momentarily reminding me of the dream I had last night and making me want to think about it instead of continuously being plagued by my mistakes.

Yet I store the memory that the dream had replayed for later and continue trying to distract myself by searching for the origin of the sound.

It only takes me a moment of looking before I spot the water to the left of me. Glistening in the early morning sun as its rays pass through the thin cover of leaves forming a roof over that part of the woods, before sparkling in the liquid in a way that would undeniably look enticing to any Water Elemental, maybe even any non-Fire Type for that matter.

A silent rumbling in my stomach reminds me of when it will be time to eat something, as we set off without eating something first. And just as if having read my thoughts, I overhear the same rumbling coming from Treek.

It takes a few more moments and I have returned to once again watch the kids wander in front of me, with the beauty of nature actually having managed to suppress my sorrows for a short period of time. Yet after the time has passed and Treek finally begins stating his response, they immediately return.

"She wasn't even supposed to be here." He begins, sounding as if he didn't know where to go with the statement. "And according to what you think, only she isn't be willing to as I did after learning who you are."

Turning to face me and causing me to look at him, he doesn't pause and continues to explain. "My point is that it's not her house. And even if you don't trust her, I ask you to remember how my parents are like."

Even though he does raise a valid point, he doesn't appear to have understood mine, as it isn't that I'm concerned about the opinion his sister might hold over me, but the fact that I tricked her into doing something against her will.

I want to explain it to Treek, yet before I can open my mouth again, both of us get distracted as Melissa calls out to him.


	72. Pathfinders

"Treek!" Melissa shouts, not sound as if she was still sad or mad at him, or me for that matter, causing me to look up and notice that she has stopped and is having her brother to come over to her.

Treek follows up on her invitation, and walking past the kids while I slowly catch up to stand next to them, he arrives at her side as the two of them start talking.

We've reached a small clearing and the sky is visible. Yet the sun has decided to hide being a couple of clean, white clouds that have started covering the sky.

It doesn't look like there's going to be any rain. Yet I quickly avert my gaze, as if fearing that looking at them for too long could turn them into their gray and quite dangerous siblings.

Looking around, I don't notice anything too special. There are trees surrounding the clearing and covering my view from anything that lies beyond, while even the path we took to get here can no longer be seen as I realize that Melissa must have used her abilities of controlling the plant live to make the path easier to travel for the non-Grass Types among us.

I hadn't expected her to do this in her own, as I have gotten too used to having to remind Treek of doing what he's best at.

"First of all." Melissa begins, while I wonder if she is going to address the, what she understands as a misunderstanding between me and her. But I'm surprised as she has apparently decided not to mention it again. "I totally forgot to give you guys your break first."

She laughs with her usual giggling as I can clearly tell that she is forcing herself to commit into acting as if nothing was wrong.

Quickly going ahead and opening Treek's bag, which I kind of wish would still be carried by the Treecko it belongs to, she fishes out a paw full of Orans before heading towards Cari and Nina, with the Cyndaquil currently being in the process of dismounting the fox and her brother slowly arriving next to her.

Despite Treek ensuring me of her good heart, I somehow find myself unable to trust her anymore. And while I think about why I wouldn't believe my best friend's words of her being a good 'mon, I find myself being reminded of the worries the two of us had shared in the short moment of privacy.

'Damn.' I think to myself. 'I should have spent the time we had talking about my concerns.'

Remembering how Treek had said that he got reminded of whatever they're going to show me through a dream of his own, I quickly wonder if my dream could have somehow been connected, but quickly dismiss the idea as unlike last time the two of us remembered something in a dream, nothing special happened to me during the course of the night.

The Grovyle continues down the line and with Cari already nibbling on one of the biggest Orans I've ever seen, while Nina and Tolan enjoy sizeable fruits of their own, only I remain to be handed food as Melissa arrives in front of me and waits for me to look at her.

I do her the favor and our eyes meet. I had expected her to not mention what had happened again, and I realize that I could have played my role and simply told her that she couldn't have known then. But by that time I had already realized what I had done by deceiving her.

'Please don't apologize to me again.' I beg her, obviously not daring to utter the words while our eyes remain locked.

She still looks ashamed, with her eyes doing the apologizing for her and against my will. But after a short moment that felt way too long, she hands me one of the humongous fruits.

"' You want me to carry the emblem for you?" She asks me as I accept the fruit and inadvertently show the metallic device still resting in my left paw.

I take a look at her and another at the emblem.

'A second ago you said that you wouldn't trust her.' I state to myself mentally. But could you do yourself a favor and explain why?'

I know that I no longer have a valid reason for not simply giving it to her, have another paw free and no longer be reminded of what I did to get it back. Even if not for the practical reason of it being much safer inside than it would be if I continued to carry it, taking the risk of breaking it even further if I were to drop or fall on it, possibly even killing myself in case its power crystal, which I assume to still be intact, broke, then why not for the symbolic reason of me accepting her indirect apology.

"Thank you." I say after breaking eye contact and carefully placing the device in one of the pouches covering the outside of Treek's back.

She doesn't respond and I send her another quick glance while she returns to Treek, probably to discuss something. Yet the moment that I was given the fruit, something else began distracting me, as my stomach can no longer wait to be filled with the juices and flesh of the nourishment that was handed to me.

"Do you think we're getting closer?" I overhear Melissa asking as I take my first bite out of the berry while watching the kids quite successfully attempting to get a handle on theirs.

'Looking at the size of those things.' I begin to wonder while taking another juicy chunk out of the fruit. 'They might not even manage to fit all of that inside of them.'

I smirk a little as I continue watching them. 'But they would never admit to something like that. Not if such a tasty treat is the item in question.'

"I guess so." Treek responds, probably answering his sister while I can hear him chew on something himself. "But the question is where to we head next?"

"I think we should head that way." The Grovyle states while I peek over to see her having raised one of her arms to point into a direction somewhat resembling north.

"I think that's the right way, too." Treek responds while looking in the direction his sister is pointing towards.

'Interesting.' I think to myself, wondering if the place we are visiting might be emitting some kind of aura that one could sense if they knew what to feel for.

Closing my eyes to feel for such a thing, I fail to notice anything special before opening them again and taking another bite out of my meal.

I've devoured about half of it by now. But glancing at the kids, I'm surprised to see them having made much better progress that I.

Tolan is almost finished while Cari's berry is nowhere to be seen, leaving behind a happy looking Cyndaquil licking the remaining juices from her paws.

Nina however still seems to have a lot left, and I spot my daughter occasionally looking at her friend's food with the desire to claim the meal for her own, before probably realizing that she literally doesn't have stomach to eat anything more than she already did.

I continue to eat and while absentmindedly looking into the direction that apparently marks the next heading for our journey, I notice the two Grass Types sitting down to block the view, with Melissa actually deciding to sit next to me.

"You like it?" She suddenly starts talking to me, causing me to look at her in confusion. "I mean the berry. - You like it, didn't you?"

I put on a smile that's probably just as fake as hers, as I still find myself unable to feel anything but regret for my previous decision, especially while being around her. And after nodding her my answer, she responds with her typical and probably just as forced giggle.

"Well." She continues. "There's more where that came from."

Not really wanting to engage in conversation with her, I simply respond by giving another nod, after which some time passes with Melissa probably expecting me to respond verbally.

But when I fail to do so for what must have been nothing less than five minutes, she realizes that everyone including me and herself has finished eating. So as the self-proclaimed leader of the group, she stands up and address us.

"We're getting close, but we still have a way's way to go." She begins before proceeding as she points into the direction I've already realized her deciding with her brother. "We'll have to continue that way next."

"But isn't that the way we came from?" Nina decides to intervene as I mentally cringe while fearing that she might have inadvertently offended the Grovyle, seeing how racism against dark types is a common thing among the natives around these parts.

But I'm surprised as Treek's sister appears to ignore the typing of the creature that had stated the question, while I wonder how the fox got the idea in the first place.

"No, it isn't." Melissa responds. "It's the complete opposite direction."

Nina obviously isn't satisfied with the answer she was given, not appearing as if she believes the Grovyle. But instead of interrogating her further, she decides to give in and nod while still not caring enough to hide her obvious mistrust.

With full stomachs we continue on our journey, while I finally regain the ability to think about something other than the guilt it would probably still be feeling if I was purely a being driven by emotions. Sure, I made mistakes and the one I made this morning was no different, but being the holder, I can never forget despite my own shortcomings, the things I'm in charge of are much more important.

With my ember usually being the source of my emotions, the way I act when my ember is acting for me, is the way that other 'mons behave all the time. Because they don't know any better. Sure: everyone has some part that they would call their ~reasonable mind~. But what they don't realize, is that their reasons are still driven by emotions, only using their mind when it helps out their true force of will, which again: is driven by nothing but emotions.

I'm not saying that I don't understand them. I'm not saying that they are wrong, should change anything, or should feel bag because of it. It's what they are, and what makes me the most different from them.

Treek is walking next to his sister and I'm no longer able to talk with him in private. But then again it is probably for the better, as the gap separating the group before we stopped for break first is no longer there, and we are once again traveling as one.

I suddenly snap out of my thought, when I hear something rustling behind us. But turning around, the sounds seize and with no one else looking behind, I am left to wonder whether or not I just imagined hearing it in the first place.

Continuing to look back, I can witness how the leaves and branches snap back into position after being commanded to make way for us sentients passing through.

I try to convince myself that the rustling must have been a byproduct of the way that the Grass Type commands the plants, or maybe just a forest critter that got scared by us passing through.

And as time moves on, even I start to notice the forest getting thicker and thicker, with a bigger and stronger looking tree showing up after another.

But seeing how I'm not even a Grass Type and realizing that as long as one of them is around I'd have no problems finding my way through the thicket, I continue to let my mind wonder while keeping the steady pace of the group.

The way that a Grass Elemental manages to wield the forces of nature is actually quite interesting. Unlike Fire Types they don't pull their energy from a central location that feeds everything else, like I do with my ember. Instead their source of power is all around.

It is nature itself that represents their ember. Treek once explained to me, that from every blade of grass to every tree no matter how big, everything is connected with each other through the ground it stands on. And it is this ground that all plants draw their strength from in return. And it is that common ground, that a Grass Type can use to influence and control them.

Every one of them has a part of a plant. May it be on the inside or on the outside. May be have only one big, or many smaller ones.

For Treecko's like Treek, that part is the leaves one would describe as their tail. When in actuality they are a plant. A plant that can be controlled in any way, shape or form by the mind of the creature within, may that mind be sentient or not.

Treek tried to explain what it feels like to me once, but even though he did quite a good job at expressing himself, I can neither recall the exact process of commanding nature, nor did I fully understand either, thus leading to him disappointedly giving up.

"Huh?" I suddenly get ripped out of my thoughts, as the group has stopped with Melissa furiously flapping her arms, making me wonder what she is even doing.

"Let me try." Treek states, as I take a look back to see nature slowly returning to the natural layout that doesn't feature any signs of a path such as the one we had walked on thus far.

There are just so many branches and sticks and tree trunks, that I have to wonder how nature intended me to overcome such an obstacle, before realizing that I was given the power to permanently remove obstacles such as this.

"What the hell!?" Treek shouts as he is now violently shaking one of his arms while using the other to pull on one of the upcoming branches.

Melissa has stopped flailing and stares at her brother failing in confusion, as I realize the problem being that they appear to be unable to bend the upcoming thicket.

But while this being a problem confuses me just as much as it must be confusing them, I decide to offer my advice. "Can't we just go around?"

"Believe me: I've already tried." Melissa answers my question while I turn around once again as a shocking thought crosses my mind.

"Those won't budge either." She answers, as I breath in relieve at the sight of the thicket behind us and on top of us remaining frozen, still giving us enough room to not fear getting trapped between the branches.

The problem doesn't have to be stated and Nina is next to state her own question. "Has this ever happened to either of you before?"

"No." Treek answers while finally giving up trying to move the solid wall of wood in front of him. "I mean: this can happen when you try to command a tree that is dead, but you can believe me that these trees are very much alive."

I continue to look around, but only manage to get a few glimpses at different specks of light still managing to penetrate the thick layer of leaves forming a roof of the extremely dense forest.

"What now?" I ask while I notice an intrigued Tolan staring through the thicket. "Can we at least go back?"

Treek turns around and looks at me before focusing on the natural wall directly behind me.

"No." He says shortly after and shakes his head before turning back to his sister. "As a matter of fact: are you still holding back the trees from crushing us?"

With all eyes focused on her, the confused Grass Type simply shakes her head. "I thought you were."


	73. The Woods of Old Zissorine I

"That's it!" I exclaim, realizing too late that I had actually opened my mouth to say the words. And while I do intend to solve the mystery just as much as the others must want to, the only thing holding us back from pooling our knowledge and figuring out what's happening, is the Grovyle that still thinks of me as nothing by a poor, old and crazed veteran.

With all eyes already directed at me and everyone awaiting my next words, I barely manage to push back my ember's attempts at suppressing Quill to simply act as if Melissa wasn't there.

But realizing the dire consequences that would arise from such a decision, I quickly form a different response.

"Treek." I begin while turning towards him. "I need you to tell me everything you still remember about where we're heading."

I know that he probably won't be able to tell me any more than he already said, but still hoping that there might be something he hasn't said yet, or only now remembers, any bit and piece of information might be helpful at this point.

"I really need you to explain everything you still remember." Turning to Melissa, I continue. "And the same goes for you as well. I don't care if you never wanted Treek to tell anyone. But something's clearly wrong, and even if you have yourself convinced that this immovable wall of trees can't have anything to do with it, I can assure you that I'm much more qualified to make that decision than you are."

"Who made you the expert on this all of the sudden?" Melissa wonders out loud while nobody decides to pay attention to her question.

Treek remains still and while his sister looks around the group, her unwillingness to comply isn't met by any of the faces around her.

The trees and leaves are surprisingly quiet, something I only notice now as no part of the wilderness around us shows motion, may it be from the wind I still noticed a few minutes ago, or some other means.

Cautiously testing and trying to confirm that time is still flowing by attempting to drag a stick across the ground, I get distracted by Treek speaking up when the twig snaps in two, causing a minor cracking sound to echo through the woods surrounding is.

"I would if I could, C-." He interrupts himself before finishing the sentence while the sound of the single letter already manages to make me glance towards the other Grass Type who apparently hasn't noticed anything about the disaster her brother had almost caused.

"I know you don't remember all of it, but can't you at least try?" I ask in response, not understanding and wanting to solve the mystery more than ever. "Because unless you have some magical way of fixing your powers, we're only left with two possibilities: me burning down the entire forest, or you helping me to do what I'm best at!"

"I..." Treek begins to stammer. "We. - We just don't remember."

"What?" I ask, the annoyance in my voice growing more and more, fueling my already enraged fire while I attempt to calm the flames by reminding them of my kids'es presence and my expletory role towards them.

"Why?" I repeat the question in a much calmer voice after a moment of silence had passed. "I remember you mentioning some very interesting details this morning. There must be something more you still haven't said."

"Because we never did." Melissa inserts, causing both me and Treek to quickly turn towards her while Nina and the kids only slowly turn their heads towards their uncle's sister.

"I don't even know why Treek wanted go back there. - Because you'll just forget what you witnessed like we did whenever we went there."

Turning towards her bother. "As a matter of fact: I'm just like you. - Until like a week ago, I had completely forgotten everything about it. And all I remember now is somehow breaking my ankle in the middle of some lake filled with crystals."

Turning towards her sister, the Treecko continues their dialog. "Yeah. I don't remember much more either. Only that after waking up this morning, a minor detail shot into my mind, that convinced me of its importance to Quill."

Melissa rolls her eyes, almost making the appearance of wanting laugh at her brother, but instead deciding to move on with the conversation while Treek mentioning some unspecified detail grabs my attention.

"Looking back, you should realize that here are much more sane explanations for what happened, like stumbling over some feral psychic type's lair." She responds, crossing her arms and providing an arguably undisputable explanation for everything I've heard so far. "So it just erased our memories and send us on our way."

'But what about that crystal lake then?' I find myself wondering before snapping to my senses and interrupting the two.

"Hang on a second." I speak up, causing their heads to turn towards me. "What was the detail you remembered, Treek?"

Yet as I await my answer, I can hear some rustling coming from behind me.

With me standing in front of them and the stubborn branches blocking the way, the sounds are coming from what would have been to the right of the path we initially came on.

Treek and Melissa stare above my head, and unlike before it doesn't take the kids nearly as much time to turn around and see what is happening as I only slowly realize that something much more important is happening than our bickering about lost memories and trying to keep the Grovyle in the dark about my real identity.

I turn around and I see empty space. - Just like a powerful Grass Elemental such as a Venusaur may be able to conjure up, a clear passage of open space is leading away from our cell and further into the forest.

I stare at the path with wide open eyes, not even realizing that my mouth has fallen agape.

'There must be logical explanation for this...' I think to myself, wanting to shout the words in both confusion and surprise, but deciding to keep them to myself as they wouldn't provide us with anything other than another group chat about how everyone else knows just as much.

"What in Arceus'es name..." Melissa exclaims, only whispering the words, but speaking as if she was shouting, while I realize that she hadn't thought nearly as far as I did and decide to ignore her statement.

Ignoring the Grovyle's distraction, I look down the corridor of free space.

Whenever a Grass Type would create such a path, you would always be able to the flora that had just been moved aside, sometimes bending the branches to a point where they would have long snapped if it weren't for the caring control of the sentient having to share their pain if they went too far.

Yet as I continue to analyze the new path that had opened up, I fail to spot the trees that must have previously stood there.

Almost as if something is bidding us to enter its lair, maybe to lure us into a trap or maybe to show us the way out, I try to strain my mind but fail to realize any species of 'mon that would have such an advanced capability of creating a way for us to go without leaving being any burn marks and probably not even use fire at all, as I would have been able to sense flames this close by.

Nina is the first to get gripped by the sense of exploration and cautiously sets a foot where an immovable tree had stood moments ago.

I want to stop her and tell her that it is too dangerous. But even before I'm able to say a single word, she freezes and pricks her ears for the sound of a stray branch cracking somewhere further down the corridor, sounding almost as if something had purposely snapped the branch and make us halt to listen for it.

It is very dark and I assume that even more clouds must have moved in front of the sun, actually managing to make me question my previous deduction of assuming that it wasn't going to rain today. Only with the thick lair of canopy above, I collect myself and realize that it wouldn't matter with the plants shielded me from any downfall.

My eyes are still to adjusted to the decently bright sunlight we were still witnessing a few moments ago when the sky was clear, but the path now lying before us is much darker, featuring thick branches filled with dark leaves that block out everything.

"Can you see something?" Cari asks the fox carefully, only whispering the words in case the answer would be yes, while relying on the Zorua's typing to help Nina see through the darkness near the ground.

"I don't know." She responds, wiggling with her eyes and doing her best to pick up on anything out of the ordinary. "I heard something before, but it's no longer there. - And it's just so dark..."

I turn around and send a quick look at Treek.

"Can you still not control the forest?" I ask, hoping that we wouldn't have to walk into such an obvious trap.

The Grass Type turns away while his sister sends him a quick glance before turning back to face the path that had opened up.

I watch as the Treecko waves his arms, an action that is meant to channel and guide his powers and used to teach the basics of the nature to the young of their element, but not something that a wielder of the Grass Core as experienced as Treek would ever require to control it.

I don't have to wait for him to turn around and tell me the answer. I don't have to ask him to explain that it still isn't working. Because all that I know, is that I don't want to risk entering the new way, even if it means that I would have to create my own the ~really~ hard way.

Turning towards the nearest wall of thicket, I step over one of the trunks that were bent down when Melissa was still in control over them, to end up next to the Treecko while my ember responds and starts flaring, slowly growing a decently sized flame that I would use to burn our way out of the trap we had entered.

Treek realizes what I'm planning on doing. And hoping that the others wouldn't attempt to enter the path way too obvious to not raise my suspicions, I restate my last question from before the other way had opened.

"What detail did you came to remember this morning?" I ask as I reach the thicket and grab a vine, only to quickly let go as I realize that there are thorns covering it, none of which have managed to puncture my skin.

But still redirecting the unpleasantness of the touch towards the flame, I release the fire directed at the ridiculous joke for a living thing that this plant must think it is for daring to attempt injuring ~me~.

The fire connects as I breathe it from my mouth, focusing it on as small space as possible as the wide-spread flame I had initially started with didn't seem to make quite the difference.

"Do you remember when we were running away from Mancerage?" He asks me, as I widen my eyes and instantly remember the dream I had the same night.

I close my mouth and the constant stream of flames that had thus far spewed out from my mouth stops, only to turn towards the Grass Type and let him read my face to figure out the answer.

The verbal response I would have given is quite clear, both to me, as well as to him. And taking that answer into account he continues.

"If I'm not completely wrong, Melissa and I stumbled over the same thing we found then."

I continue to listen to what the Grass Type is explaining, both of us ignoring the fact that the Grovyle as someone not allowed to is listening in on us.

"I'm sorry I didn't mention it when we were there originally, but I only remembered it when I woke up this morning." He pauses for a moment as I already feel like as if I know what is planned for me today.

"You've never told me what you saw, but knowing you it's quite obvious what it has to be about." Treek continues to explain himself while I notice Melissa and the kids staring at us, on one paw making me feel grateful for them not having gone ahead without us, but on the other paw truly making me wonder how much of this I should allow them to hear.

"I didn't want to say anything before because I can't even be sure if that statue is what we found. And considering what has gone on lately, I thought you could use all the help you can get."

I signal him to stop talking, not just because he may have already said too much, with the Grovyle staring at the two of us with wide eyes while I take another look at the vine I had attempted to scorch.

It hasn't changed at all, appearing to be fully resistant to my flames, as not even a single burn mark, as one would have expected to can be seen.

Under normal circumstances I would start questioning why the branch hadn't responded to the heat like any other piece of wood I've encountered thus far had. But considering the gaping hole in the density of the trunks and bark and twigs and leaves right next to me, I realize that it is once again up to me to lead the group. - May that be with or against the will of the second Grass Elemental.


	74. The Woods of Old Zissorine II

I'm last to set afoot on the path, following after Nina, Tolan and Cari.

If it was up to me, I would have never allowed any of them to start exploring the unknown, under no circumstances consenting to.

Melissa and Treek went after them, only leaving me to still be standing in the small out cove of nature that the seemingly straight path ends at.

As I leave the small room that we had spent the last half hour inside of, I turn back one more time to witness nature returning into its natural position the moment I set foot on the solid ground of the new terrain.

I should have expected whatever had created our new path to wait for all of us to enter it before closing off the entrance and thereby putting the lid of this trap it had forged for us.

Feeling like I should experiment with the phenomenon while it is still there, I carefully hold one paw inside the area, only to have the creaking and crackling of the wood halt as soon as it detects my presence.

'I guess there's some kind of automated system at play.' I think to myself as I quickly pull my paw out and put it back in, causing some of the trees to rustle heavily from the constant shaking back and forth as the mechanism halts and resumes.

But seeing how it doesn't seem willing to return to its former position, and considering the fact that there was no another exit or way of escaping it, I finally let go, allowing whatever automaton is controlling the trees to finish its job as I turn towards the group.

The first thing I notice is the darkness. I can still make out all of them quite clearly. But as I look around, I fail to identify anything that might provide me, or any of them with more information other than the fact that whatever it is we stumbled into, it is completely shrouded in darkness.

Looking around, I can count the questions that everyone is thinking about, but before I can open my mouth to dismiss most of them by asking the group to follow me, Treek can't hold himself and states the first.

"Where is this light coming from?" He asks, pointing around a circle of dim light surrounding us. A feature I notice only now, as something definitely not belonging there.

"I don't know." I respond, shrugging my shoulders while watching Nina take a step towards the darkness, only to have a smaller aura of light follow her as she takes her steps.

I have already decided that the time for questioning everything has passed, knowing that even if I did understand it, I probably should explain it to the others.

Yet just as I take a few steps towards the darkness and away from where we started, again planning on telling the others to stick together and follow me as we would venture deeper into the darkness that we were forced to enter, Treek speaks up while his words freeze muscles, almost causing me to faint.

"Cyder?" He asks, daring to speak my name while I glance over to his sister who most definitely heard the word and is now standing inside of her own ring of light surrounded by the darkness of the forest.

I see her trying to swallow before her mouth falls open and remains that way. But while I couldn't be more shocked about having my identity revealed like this, it is what Treek says next that actually manages to force me into feeling my heart skip a beat.

"I think I know what is happening..."

I turn towards him and even though he must have realized his mistake of implicitly that I'm the holder to his sister, her eyes remaining fixated on me while I try to ignore her penetrating looks as well as possible. The Treecko's eyes tell the whole story, and I know that what he is about to say will be much more important than keeping up any charades.

'It might not be too bad.' I try to push the thought away, hoping that I might be able to explain the name away by stating it was a pet name he would use for me.

But I don't have to attempt distracting myself from the untimely thought, as the Grass Type continues to explain.

"I think this is a Mystery Dungeon."

I swallow and immediately turn around to call back the kids and have them stay as close to me as they possibly can.

'Why haven't I thought of this possibility?' I wonder to myself.

"Kids?!" I simultaneously shout, feeling quite relieved of having them dash towards me immediately and enter the deformed ring consisting of Treek, Melissa and me.

'Treek even said that there was a Dungeon near Laizisso, even though he stated that it wasn't supposed to show up for some time. - No: he said it would envelop Laizisso until then. So this could be the one, only not quite as big yet.'

"We'll have to stay together." I speak up. "Let Treek and me do the leading. - He's been through this one before, so he knows the exit."

Turning to Melissa still staring at me bewilderedly, attempt to talk to her, hoping that she would listen to my words of reason and understand that our odds of survival had to be better if she were to help us defend against the critters.

"Melissa." I speak to her while she appears to consider the possibility of having fallen asleep and this being nothing but a dream. - Maybe she is considering the possibility of this being what had happened the last times she and her brother went to the statue.

But the one thing that the Grass Type starts to be certain of, is not to trust me.

"NO!" She interrupts me with anger in her voice. - So much anger, even managing to make he take a step back and fall over a branch lying on the floor.

"NO!" She shouts again, as her shouting is echoed by rustling coming from all around us. "You are the definition of bad!" She continues to shout.

Dashing towards me and pushing me back to the ground as I attempt to stand up, she continues to threaten me as she stands away from us with shock written all over her face. "I want nothing to do with you or any of that nonsense. - So you better be grateful for that, because I don't even want to get the trouble of reporting you."

Turning away from me and furiously snarling at her bother trying to start a conversation with her, she turns away from the both of us before dashing into the darkness.

"Don't you ever dare to show your face to me again, war-bringer!" She shouts back at us while the shadows are already starting to cover her tracks.

"Melissa!" Treek finally starts a futile attempt at stopping her that is completely ignored.

I know that he isn't the kind of 'mon that would dash after her. - Not if it meant abandoning me. - Not even if I was sitting in the sun and enjoying a snack, or any other situation less dangerous than this. From the very beginning he made it quite clear that his priorities lie with me, something that I can definitely confirm to be the case even when it comes to sister.

'War-bringer...' I think to myself, something I probably shouldn't do as the term is too close to the truth to be disputed.

"I'm sorry." I whisper to myself, whishing that I had some opportunity of communicating the words to the Grovyle before being interrupted by more and most definitely louder rustling coming from all around us.

I take a look at Treek still staring the way his sister went when abandoning us, probably regretting his mistake of stating that single word that caused her to act like this.

She also took the bag with her, as the Treecko isn't holding it himself and I fail to find it lying around anywhere near.

But the imminent danger is enough to let at least someone overcome their shyness, as Nina speaks up.

"Treek!" She shouts, grabbing his attention before turning to me. "Cyder! - Are you guys not hearing the sounds?"

I finally snap out of my trance and turn around to see a Paras creeping through the thicket lining the path and targeting me.

It isn't too big and barely stands large enough to reach my waste if it wanted to, while his typing removes any sense of threat that being targeted by a random feral would normally imply.

"Don't be fooled." Treek inserts, apparently finished collecting his thoughts and having realized a danger unbeknownst to me, while the Paras continues to creep towards us, looking quite furious and dangerous despite his size.

"Ferals in here have no sense of self-preservation, and Nina's right in that there are definitely more and probably stronger on their way. - So we need to get a move on."

I jump out of its way as the walking mushroom attempts to get a jump on me, once again noticing the sounds of dozens of more ferals on their way towards us.

"Cari, you ride on Nina." I state while releasing a quick and uncharged fireball against the Bug Type, causing it to roll over instantly while I turn towards Tolan.

"And you buddy get to ride on me." I state, not having to explain myself twice as Cari has already found grip on the back of the black haired fox and Treek understands the plan just as quickly, already having turned back towards us after going forward a couple of meters.

Tolan is finally done and I take no time to warn him about takeoff before dashing ahead as the signal to start running, with Treek not wasting any time to lead the group with Nina carrying Cari following shortly after me.

We run a few dozen meters and I do my best to watch the terrain, as to not fall over any stray branches or run into another feral, only to have it be a much stronger one than the weakly Paras that for some reason got the idea of standing a chance against me.

A thought hits me as I realize that according to Treek's own explanation, Mystery Dungeon are brought forth by the library. 'What if they're not created by, but instead apart of it?'

The thought intrigues me and continues to distract me, almost managing to make me run into a tree trunk as the path forces us to take a sharp left turn.

I take a look back and feel relieved to not see anything following us while I'm equally as surprised to see a faint light shining on the path that we went to get here. - It's not nearly bright enough to tell whether or not a feral is running after us, but it is enough to grab my interest as to what is creating this light in the first place.

'But if this is all part of the library, where are the gateways interconnecting its different sections?' I continue to wonder. 'And shouldn't I be able to...'

My thought is interrupted as a sharp pain surges through my forehead, blinding me in pain and causing me to tumble over the next branch for which I had already plotted a jump to send me flying over it.

I can hear Tolan whimpering as he falls off of me, trying to keep himself from exclaiming his fear and need to all the critters around.

The pain slowly fades and I am left with the answer I sought. - The library is in danger.


	75. The Woods of Old Zissorine III

"Cyder?" Treek asks carefully. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah." I respond, knowing and feeling that the pain will only be temporary and vanish once my mark begins to relax again.

"You lost your hat." Treek continues while extending one of his arms to hand me the hat that had apparently fallen off. "Did it turn on by itself?"

Seeing the fading blue light originating from my mark, lighting up the inside of my hat while putting it on, it still continues to hurt for a few more moments as I answer Treek's question.

"No." I respond. "Considering what you said about the dungeons, I checked what would happen if I tried to summon an exit like I would when I wanting to manually leave the library."

Blinking while rubbing my eyes, I slowly get them to adjust to our surroundings.

But seeing how it is still very much dark around me, I quickly add onto the statement. "But I guess that didn't work. - Did we at least get rid of the ferals?"

Once again rubbing my eyes, I find myself in the center of a dimply lit clearing, with a solid line of trees a few dozen meters away from us.

It is completely silent and the ground is covered with short blades of grass, leaving the only sounds that can be heard coming for the group moving over the ground.

"You did something..." Treek responds while looking around as I too notice that we're not where we were a moment ago.

And checking to make sure that everyone is present and accounted for, I can confirm Nina, Tolan and Cari being there as well.

"It felt as if I was falling for a moment." Treek states, turning away from as I push myself up from the ground.

"It didn't feel like that to me." Nina opposes the statement. "One moment I was running away from the ferals, and the next I was in this here clearing."

'Not really a clearing.' I think to myself, analyzing the word. Because looking at the sky, there isn't a single piece of it visible anywhere, as a monotonous dark gray blanket of what I assume to be clouds covers the entirety of it. Even though it doesn't look like clouds, seeing how there are no discernable patterns or shapes anywhere.

"Treek?" I ask the Grass Type, wanting to test a theory I just had. "Can you test to see if you can control nature again?"

He doesn't respond for a few moments, but the fact that he doesn't start wailing his arms like he did before in an attempt to focus his concentration, he instead sends me a smile while I can feel the blades of grass surrounding my feet tickling my ankles.

"Great!" I cheer alongside Nina, Tolan and Cari, while Treek is equally as happy to see his powers once again working.

"But where are we then?" I wonder out loudly, not having intended to ask the question but still deciding to continue wondering. "And what's with the gray sky? - I mean: those doesn't look like rain clouds to me..."

"I should clarify." Treek begins unexpectedly, causing me to stop analyzing our surroundings after only just having begun. "As I said before: I've been through a couple of these before, and I while I don't want to ruin your fun, it's quite possible that we're still inside."

"But you can control the grass again..." Cari insists, taking the words right out of my mouth, as I'm just as interested in learning more about the phenomenon that Treek has once again proven himself to be our resident expert of.

"I don't really understand it myself." The Grass Type begins. "Heck: the moment I woke up after just having lived an entire live, I had already forgotten most of everything that I had witnessed, not leaving me with much more than my last few moments and the circumstances leading up to my death."

He takes a short pause doing his best to forget the fear that he must have felt at that moment. Yet just as strong as ever he continues a moment later without any of the kids noticing his concerns.

"My point is that given the ferals pursuing us not having any troubles getting through the thicket, and considering the fact that I remember using a vine to hang on for dear life, I think it's quite possible that there are certain sections of a dungeon in which only some of our powers work."

"what do you mean by ~Sections~?" Cari inquires while I twist my wrist and snap my fingers to effortlessly conjure up a small flame, leaving my mind with the reassuring thought of me still being in control over my own element of fire.

"As far as I can remember, dungeons are separated into different sections, each of which then imposes varying sets of rules, changing its layout and what you might stumble over depending on how it might be feeling that day."

Treek takes another short pause, probably to think for a moment while I take look around in an attempt to find some sort of path that we could follow, hopefully meant to lead us away from the clearing, out of the dungeon and somewhere meaningful.

But before I finish my search or Treek can resume explaining, my eyes fall on something different on the far end of the clearing.

I recognize it immediately as being the creature I had witnessed stalking me in the morning.

'How did it get here?' I wonder for a moment before pushing the thought aside due to its irrelevance.

Despite the moody atmosphere only allowing for tiny amounts of light reaching the ground, the shape still manages to be shrouded in complete darkness, only featuring its prominent ruby eyes protruding from its blanket of black, fearlessly and precisely staring into mine while their glow almost gives the appearance of blood flowing out of a fresh stab wound.

"Guys!" I shout out, not daring to take my eyes off of it, feeling as if I already know that it would vanish the second I uttered a single word.

Yet it remains for another moment as Treek is first to follow my eyes while Nina rotates her head in confusion, obviously not understanding what it is that I'm referring to.

Treek must have still seen the shadow as it vanishes the moment he had laid eyes upon it.

"Where even are you?" Nina asks, seemingly without any connection to what the Grass Type and I had just witnessed, while Tolan and Cari were too late to glance at the shadow stalking me once again.

"I saw it too." Treek responds while Cari turns to Nina.

"We're right here." She carefully responds to her friend, already jumping to conclusions and filling her words with anxiety and worry.

I turn to see what is going on, seeing how the shadow has once again disappeared. And while Treek continues to remain fixated on the spot I had witnessed it at, almost as if there was something else that had grabbed his interest, I turn to face the black haired fox to see what is going on.

"I can't see any of you." She speaks, worry now present in her voice as well. "It's all dark wherever I look. - No light to see anywhere."

A thought crosses my mind as I realize a possible explanation for why the fox might be unable to see, making me wonder even more about the implications that a definite answer to my theory would hold.

Quickly going through with my plan of confirming or disproving the theory, I summon another small flame in the palm of my hand.

"Can you see now?" I ask the fox, for her sake hoping that the answer would be yes while also wishing that she would still be unable to see.

"Ah." She speaks up, sounding relieved with none of the anxiety formerly audible in her voice present. "Yes. Now I can see you guys."

Tolan turns to me in confusion as I absentmindedly close my fist, robbing the Zorua of her new gained sight again.

"This is bad." I exclaim, once again realizing how unnaturally silent the woods around us are. "That gray and cold light shining through the clouds can't be sunlight."

Turning to see Treek still partially staring at the spot where I had previously spotted the shadow, he almost appears as if wanting to interrupt me for something more important, but still deciding to let me finish explaining before he would do so.

Nina once again blinks her eyes while Cari helps her out by summoning her own small candle light, thus allowing her furry friend to see once again.

"It's not something you usually notice, but this has to do with why light can appear in different colors." I pause for a moment to think about how I can put it in as simple of terms as possible before moving on. "Basically, the color and distance that light can travel depends on its wave length, where longer waves of light can travel further than shorter."

"So in order for a Dark Type like Nina to see more easily at night, her core evolved to grant her the ability of observing much longer waves like the once coming from the stars lighting up the night sky, thus making it much easier for her to see during the night."

"But in exchange, she lost the ability to see some of the shorter ones, like those providing the gray light we're seeing."

Tolan tilts his head as I realize that my explanation was too technical, leaving him unable to follow it. And seeing Cari displaying the same confusion, I quickly decide to discard my previous explanation.

"In the end, one of us will have to cast a flame so Nina can see where she is going too."

With my eyes fixated on Cari while I finished my talk, I can see her nodding to me, understanding that she and her brother would have to cast that flame and allow her friend to see at least as far as that fire's shine would travel.

I was right in that Treek had been waiting for me to finish before stating his concerns. And just as I turn back to face him once again, I notice that he no longer watches the far end of the clearing and instead stares at me in concern.

"I think we should check over there." He begins pointing precisely in the direction where both him and I saw the shadow disappearing in.

Faint crackling sounds can be heard coming from the small anomalies in the flame carried by my daughter as I see the light of the flame from behind me, with my legs casting a shadow upon Treek standing in front of me.

"What did you see?" I query in response instead of immediately approving him.

"I don't know what exactly. But I did see some more movement." He answers before turning to face the spot once again as he continues. "And I think there is something lying in the grass over there."

His concern had already told the entire story, as I realize that he must be hoping to find his sister having reached the clearing as well.

I decide not to answer verbally and instead give him a nod, upon which the Grass Type wastes no more time and immediately begins walking towards his new destination as I turn around to make sure the kids would be ready to go as well.

'Look what I got you into this time...' I silently sigh to myself while realizing that they have already started heading after Treek, leaving me to be the last 'mon still standing behind.

'Ain't I just the best father for once again exposing you to this much risk?' I continue to wonder while before picking up my step and dashing for a few moments to fill the gap that has already formed between me and the rest of the group.

Some part of me, which I assume to be my ember, tries to reassure me of my action's righteousness. - That I hadn't made any mistakes in bringing the kids along on this adventure, if that is what you would want to call this.

I was just too preoccupied with the thought of someone having following me all the way to Laizisso. A fear that only fed on and still leaches off my encounter with the shadow. Whether or not that actually happened doesn't matter in the end. Because what I did, I did to try and protect them, and be there for them. - Yet instead they had to see me lie, cheat and possibly doom the sister of my best friend and their uncle, before dragging them into just as much danger as they were exposed to when we were still on the road with nothing but getting to Laizisso on our minds.

'Aren't I a great father?'


	76. The Woods of Old Zissorine IV

Still on our way to the spot where I had seen the shadow at and Treek had apparently only managed to get a glance at, the Grass Type suddenly starts dashing forward, leaving the rest of the group behind while rushing through the grass bowing before him.

Cari's extinguishes her flame for a moment, but notices immediately and reignites the flame to allow her friend to see again.

I glance forward and start rushing to catch up with the Treecko, eventually managing to get a glance at what has caused him to speed up so drastically.

It is his bag. - The bag that the Grovyle Melissa took with her when she left us behind. - How it got there I don't know, but seeing who I am, I can be certain that this is a question that's I'm going to be asked sooner or later.

Treek has stopped right in front of it, motionlessly staring at it with his back turned towards me and the rest of the group. And not even as I arrive second, closely followed by Tolan coming in third with Cari and Nina not having been able to keep up due to Nina's predicament of not being able to observe the wavelengths used by whatever it is that might be hiding behind the solid, featureless layer of gray covering the sky.

"Great!" Treek suddenly starts whimpering with a shaking voice, still not showing his face and doing his best to sound confident. "We've got all of our supplies back."

He doesn't dare to look at me even though despite him trying to, it remains quite clear that he is devastated and probably just in the process of imagining what had caused the bag to appear without its last carrier.

"Listen Treek." I try to comfort him. "Don't rely on me to tell you what to do. - If you want to go look..."

"No..." He interrupts me while turning around abruptly.

"No." He repeats, forcing himself to hold onto the word as if it was his life. "You don't understand."

He's right. I don't understand what could have happened. I have no clue as to where head next. Not just because the clearing doesn't appear to have any apparent exit to it what-so-ever, but also because I'm not the one claiming to have already conquered at least one of these dungeons before in another life.

Treek whimpers again loudly, causing some of his sobs to echo back from the other end of the clearing. But just as I'm about to start another attempt at comforting him, he decides to continue explaining on his own.

"When you..." He tries to begin before swallowing and turning away. And after glancing at the kids empathically looking back with big round eyes, probably resulting from the moody lighting all around, he grabs the bag to swing it over his shoulder and continues his explanation without finishing his prior thought.

"... The dungeon will dispense your supplies somewhere else inside of it."

I understand what the Treecko is trying to say, realizing that he is referring to and assuming the loss of one of his own kin, his own blood. Someone he shared just as much, if not even more memories with as I share with him, or had shared with Lydia.

"Uncle Treek?" Tolan asks carefully as I turn around to shake my head towards him, signaling that this wasn't a good time for him to address the Grass Type.

I wait a few more moments and exchange a few more looks with the kids before turning around to face Treek myself.

"Treek?" I ask him carefully, unlike my son immediately managing to grab his attention, probably by triggering some sort of reflex inside of the Treecko, set up to always be ready to listen to my words. Only that he had never intended for me to use this for talking to him in a situation like this.

"We can't possibly know what really happened." I try to comfort him. "Isn't it possible that she had to leave the bag behind and the dungeon swallowed it when she got too far away?"

Treek stops sobbing for a moment, as I realize that I must have suggested a quite reasonable possibility that he hadn't thought about.

Though he sobs again a moment later before finally responding, while still speaking in a shaken voice. "It could be possible."

Turning around to face the rest of the group, he wipes away a tear, discarding it onto the ground as I follow its path and clearly see it land on one of the blades of green where it remains.

"We should get a move on." He states, while I already plan on interrupting him to ask how he is planning on leaving the clearing that I'm assuming us to be trapped inside of.

But just as he finishes his statement and just as I open my mouth to interrupt, he turns around to command the wall of trees prohibiting us from proceeding to bend aside, creating a clear path of bent tree trunks and causing a lot of noise echoing throughout the otherwise completely silent forest.

Glad that I didn't state my stupid question, seeing how he Treecko had already proven his regained ability of commanding nature, I instead turn around to see Tolan walking up to me before looking past him to find Nina and Cari heading after him.

"Cari, Nina." I address them as they walk past me, feeling somewhat surprised that Treek notices my action and stops as well. "And this goes for you too, Tolan." I continue, facing my son.

"I want all of you to travel between me and Treek, just so I don't lose sight of you. – When heading into unknown terrain, it's most important not to get separated."

I wait for all of them to nod before heading after them and Treek, who wastes no time and turns around to proceed after hefting the bag once again.

We head through the thicket for some time, the only thing changing being the flickering light carried by Cari, as well as the occasional root too big for Treek to move aside, forcing us to take a detour.

I don't know how much distance is already between us and the clearing we started at, but just as I begin to wonder if we'll ever get to see something other than the constant barrage of humongous and ancient looking trees, blocking out what little light there still is, a rustling can be heard that most definitely didn't come from the Treecko noticing it just as I have, causing him and the rest of the group to freeze in position while he and I slowly rotating our heads to scan the area.

"Cari." I whisper towards my daughter. "Lights out."

She follows my command, and while I move to tighten the gap between her and myself, throwing a few glimpses at Treek still scanning the area for the source of the foreign sound, I am reminded of the warning he had given just after Melissa took off.

'The ferals in here have no sense of self-preservation. - And there are some really tough enemies seemingly having made it their life's task to wait for you in particular to show up, in order to seal their fate in a fight to the death against you.'

'Knowledge is power.' I find myself to conclude as I begin to feel comfortable with the kids savoring the protection between me and their uncle. 'And whatever had happened to her, it's a power that Melissa most definitely didn't wield.'

I peek my ears and in an attempt to help Treek locate the source of the foreign sound do my best to scan the thicket myself, even though my chances of seeing anything are much lower than Treek's, assuming that whatever had produced the sound isn't carrying a fire inside of it, emitting an aura of heat that I would be able to sense.

The rustling repeats itself, this time coming from the opposite side of us and causing me to turn around quickly, only to be confronted with just as much emptiness between the great trees as on our other side.

Tolan fails to suppress a silent whimper induced by the anxiety of the moment, but just as I decide to move even closer towards him, planning to comfort him with the knowledge of his father being there to protect him, the sounds of rustling leaves and snapping branches echoes from above us.

Out of pure reflex I look upwards to see a feral Scyther being just about to land its first strike on us from above.

The tension of the moment immediately becomes apparent to me and I know that every decision that is about to be made will bear consequences. Yet my ember isn't prepared to release its elemental charge at the attacker and I am left with the instinct of doing anything to get the kids out of harm's way.

Treek isn't as fast to make a decision as I put all my strength into moving my leg muscles as fast as they can manage to move from a standstill, to head for the kids.

Cari tries to shout, still focusing on the enraged enemy falling from above, with its blades reflecting a white shimmer of light of which I have no idea where it could possibly originate from.

I manage to reach the kids and push them aside just as I can hear the sound of metal cutting through dirt before colliding with stone. Though I take no precautions in not harming the kids, actually managing to interrupt Cari's cry before it had really begun, while both Nina and her brother had fallen without knowing if it was an enemy that had stricken them down, or in fact me in an attempt to protect them.

Knowing that they are protected from the immediate threat and hoping that no other enemy would sneak up on them while I would have to face the Scyther together with Treek, I waste no time on checking up on them before turning to face the battle apparently just about to start behind me.

Treek has fallen on his back, sitting less than a meter away from the winged bug currently finishing the act of pulling its blades out of the buried rock it had hit in the attack.

Making sure that I would not accidentally hit my friend, I exhale the fireball I failed to launch just a few moments ago.

The ball of fire leaves my both, heading straight for the Bug Type, brightly engulfing the terrain in its light and surely allowing Nina to see what is going on as well.

'Don't just sit there, Treek.' I think to myself while realizing that the blinding whiteness of the flame in comparison to the moody lighting the forest had been featuring since we entered it is too bright to look at, thereby forcing me to look away.

No sound of impact can be heard, and a moment later the flame vanishes as I re-open my eyes to see it having hit a tree trunk a few meters away from me, leaving behind nothing but a few dying quickly embers.

The Scyther on the other paw is nowhere to be seen. And as I look around, I spot Treek finally standing back on his feet.

"It's not over!" I exclaim for the rest of the group while summoning a flame in my right paw, that would hopefully allow us to spot the Bug before he would launch his next attack. And even if not, at least it would give Nina a fighting chance in help us locate him.

Treek jumps towards me to close the gap, producing a small gust of wind and causing my flame to mirror my own excitement. I can spot a painful looking cut on his left arm, probably caused by the surprise attack the flying ninja had managed to get on us.

Yet considering the fact that the Treecko still manages to move and use the wounded limb, I feel a bit of relieve from knowing that the Scyther hadn't managed to detach the limb, let alone leave the Grass Type with an injury that would take forever to heal, such as a missing limb would.

I turn around and start search for the Bug, realizing that Treek is standing right behind me and against my back, leaving the gap between us only big enough for me to flare my ember without having to take care in preventing the flames on my back from reaching him.

With everyone on the lookout for the Scyther, it is Nina who spots him first. Probably having used her evolutionary ability of seeing much better in the dark than any of us, at least given the presence of a light she is able to see, she shouts out to Treek and me, fully having realized the urgency of the situation.

"Behind us!" She exclaims, causing me to immediately spin around and see the Scyther already on his way as he jumps through the thicket coming closer and closer towards us, while simultaneously arriving from the side that I thought the kids would be safe on.

Tolan and Cari are slow to realize the danger they find themselves in once again. And while Treek uses his powers to try and stop the attacker in him tracks, throwing vines and branches in the way of the bug, the Scyther has no troubles cutting through the flora.

Nina on the other hand, being the first to have spotted him this time is already on her way to get behind me, slowly dragging the two Cyndaquils only just having realize the fact that they should probably move out of the may alongside her.

A split second passes and I continue to charge my ember, feeling it already having grown to a considerable size and realizing that flames must already be leaking out of my back.

I narrow my eyes as they meet with the Scyther's, distracting him enough to fail cutting through one of the rather strong vines that Treek is throwing in its way.

Unlike what I previously assumed, my fireball must have managed to scrape him, as I spot his right blade, the one he attempted to get his first hit on us before, featuring a small deformation probably resulting from its encounter with my fiery personality.

The hate against the creature flows through me. An unprovoked attacker, without any reason to pursue us or even attack us in the first place, even going further and daring to attempt an attack against the helpless young...

It isn't the species that I despise, as I once met a non-feral Scyther. And even though the encounter with him wasn't a very pleasant one, I got the feeling that teamwork, usually apparent by them working together in packs of at least four, was one of the most important things to such a being, as well as their main source of strength.

Yet hoping that the green Bug Type was breaking that rule and acting on its own, maybe because it was expelled from its pack, or maybe because of the strange ways the dungeon had already proven to use for manipulating its feral inhabitants, I decide to not hold back any of my strength just as Scyther is close enough for me to be sure that it wouldn't be able to dodge my counter.

I close my eyes and open my mouth. And despite them being tightly shut, I can still see the white and yellow that I had conjured up.

The whiteness persists for a few moments while I keep my mouth open and feel the heat bundled heat escape from my core, only to be interrupted by a screech of pain I had yet to witness. I feel comfort in the fact that it most definitely wasn't the pained cry of a Treecko, Zorua or Cyndaquil, leaving only one possible explanation. The one that I had hoped for since the battle had begun.

I close my mouth and open my eyes to see the carnage. There is no need to summon another flame that would allow us to see, even if I hadn't exhausted myself enough to feel the stinging pain of my ember begging for an opportunity of recharging itself in my side.

Normally a Scyther is predominantly green, only diverting from this color camouflaging them in dense, jungle-like environments such as this at their blades consisting of strong, reflective metal.

But the Scyther now lying in front of us, still partially inside of the shrubbery is nothing but blackness and ashes. Its blades have both melted, never to regain their former shape. One of them has fused to a rock, trapping the Bug Type even if it was still able to move.

I feel a short moment of shock as I realize how close I had allowed him to come, not even realizing that neither Nina had failed to carry Cari and Tolan to the safety behind me, where the fox is still cowering at, only slowly beginning to open her eyes.

She had covered both of them with her paws in fright and is still shaking as I turn to take another look at my kill.

The small embers still remaining on the creature's body slowly die down, and even the flames residing on the surrounding shrubbery quickly disappear, almost as if being extinguished by rain most definitely not there.

"Is there..." I speak up, only to be interrupted by the stings of my still exhausted coming from my chest.

'I shouldn't have pushed myself this much when I launched my attack.' I scold myself, not thinking of it further before forcing myself to restate the question I had already attempted to ask, this time not trying to speak as loudly as before.

"Is there another one?" I repeat, still catching my breath and only whispering some of the words as the sentence grows on.

I take a look around and begin controlling my breathing consciously as the stinging doesn't stop. Yet as I turn to look at my kill yet again, assuming that the others are doing the same, considering how this must be the biggest enemy the kids have ever seen me battle, not even counting the fact that it was a fight to the death, I am surprised to find most, if not all eyes pointed at me and only me.

"Cyder..." Treek begins just as I stop turning when our eyes meet.

I don't respond immediately and realize his eyes no longer being directed at my face but are instead staring lower, as if wanting to direct my attention to something.

I follow his eyes and look down my body. Yet shockingly I have to realize that where there usually is light brown fur bordering against my much darker bluish-red fur, there is nothing but a single color that doesn't belong. - Red.


	77. What lies beneath

Still in free fall, I find myself hitting the ground after what felt like an eternity. Yet what I assumed was going to be the end of me doesn't appear to have hurt me at all as I safely and painlessly land on my stomach.

Even though I've landed on ground made out of rocks and stones, some of which are quite unpleasantly squeezing my skin, threatening me to puncture me, there isn't a single indication of me not having survived the fall or even having sustained any injury what-so-ever other than a mild stinging in my forehead.

"Treek?" I shout out almost out of desperation, with nothing but darkness surrounding me and not only wishing that he would be there even though he must still be at the statue after it just moved back to its original position, trapping me inside of whatever it is hiding or guarding, which-ever it is, while separating me from the Grass Type I don't even know what to do without on the other side.

But my query remains unanswered, while I am left hoping that the Treecko might be able to dig underneath the statue and follow me.

"Treek?" I repeat anxiously, still only talking out of desperation as I realize the echo of my own voice returning to me.

Considering my surroundings are still completely dark, and seeing how I might have to figure out where I am, why I'm still alive, and most importantly how to get back to Treek on my own, I decide to tempt my ember and try to create a fire.

Yet almost as if reading my mind and realizing my wish for something to light up whatever it is that I landed inside of, a calming blue begins to glow from all around me, pushing back the darkness that had previously been engulfing all around me.

I'm in a cave, though it most definitely doesn't look like the last cave I found myself in. No long drop shaft ending in a ditch, no strange voices shouting to save me from an inevitable demise and no longer nothing but darkness.

The cave is enormous and I find myself in the middle of a island protruding out of an underground lake.

The light is originating from underneath the surface of crystal-clear water, which had thus far been perfectly still. Yet just as I begin to think about it, a mild humming begins to resonate through the rock and water, causing small ripples to appear on the surface, distorting the image of whatever it is that lies beneath.

Scanning the cavern while the humming doesn't appear to get any louder, I can still identify what is producing the light. At least I assume that it is its origin, as I spot a formation of blue crystal emitting light close enough to the surface as to not be completely distorted by the ripples no longer growing in magnitude.

I turn and realize just how enormous the cavern is, featuring a diameter of at least half a kilometer, I assume that the grotto must even have its own weather system, as indicated by some mist visible near the edge of the lake.

But to me relieve as I continue to turn around, I realize that I'm not trapped at all, and that the island isn't that at all, but a peninsula with a stretch of dry land reaching all the way to the edge of the lake, leading into a thick cloud of mist with a dark tunnel poking through the water vapor.

Taking a deep breath and being quite surprised to not immediately regret the action, the air still feels try as I turn to look up and see a small drop shaft that I must have fallen down to get here. But without any way of getting to the ceiling of the cave located at least two hundred meters above my head, I take a last look around before concluding that there is nothing but a single way left for me to move forward.

After walking a couple of meters, I realize that even the stinging in my forehead has disappeared, reminding me to take a look at the ground where I had landed.

Nothing special can be seen, other than a small indentation that vaguely resembles my body shape.

Tilting my head and once again questioning whether or not I had actually survived the fall or was simply experiencing what would come after death, I am brought back into reality as my ears peek almost out of reflex to inform me of something being amiss.

The humming has stopped and the waves that had previously been distorting the surface of the lake are beginning to calm down, allowing me to get a better look at what lies underneath the surface before finally moving along the path leading to and from the peninsula.

'Is this place 'mon-made?' I wonder for a moment. "If so: who created it, and why?"

Already having reached the conclusion that at least part of the cavern had to have been 'mon-made, I continue to wonder as I pass along another cluster of crystals very close to the surface.

'There was a ladder at the entrance.' I recollect what had lead me to get here. 'So I think I can safely say that I can't be the first sentient to set paw upon these grounds.'

I continue to wonder as I walk along the path while taking another look at the now completely calm surface of the lake.

Hundreds, if not thousands of the crystal clusters are covering the bottom of the lake, each of them glowing in the same, consistent bright blue. Arranged in a meaningless order, I fail to see anything but them, the rocky ground with its many hues of gray, as well as a few bigger stones of different colors and materials protruding from the ground here and there.

As I walk, the fog lifts, and it doesn't take too long for me to reach the end of the path where a hole in the grotto's wall continues onward and into a darkness no longer lit by the calming blue of the crystals.

Yet seeing how I have no other choice than to move onwards, I take slowly and carefully take one step after another before noticing that the rocky walls has stopped, leaving only the floor to continue onward, as I find myself standing on what appears to be some sort of natural bridge hovering over an abyss.

I hold up for a moment and turn to look into the darkness that had been opened up to me from all sides.

A strange, shimmering red light can be seen in the distance, lighting up further walls of the cavern too far away for me to clearly make out. Though it does light up a few beams connecting to the rock on the outside of the cavern with the lake, leaving me to realize that the lake's cave, as enormous as it already is, is hovering inside of a cavern even larger than I had thought to even be possible.

Weird, elongated and echoing stretches of noise start filling the air. They are unlike the cries or shouts of any creature I had heard thus far, featuring many different pitches and frequencies and making me wonder if a creature such as the one formulating the sounds, assuming it even is a creature, would be capable of impersonating the cry of whatever species it might wish to.

Yet its cries break off just as quickly as they had started, and as I turn one last time, hoping to locate their origin, I am once again distracted by the humming returning, this time growing much louder than before while the light produced by the crystals grows bright enough to leave me no other choice than to look away and into the darkness surrounding my bridge now partially lit by the shine of the crystals.

Thoughts and ideas of possible explanations arrive too quick and are dismissed way too fast for me to even realize that I had them in the first place. There is no way to account for everything I've already noticed and answer my questions as to what I find myself in.

I continue to walk over the abyss that the floating cavern behind me is levitating over, not daring to take a look over the side as to not fill myself with even more unnecessary anxiety.

'Am I even meant to be here?' I wonder as my precaution is rewarded and I manage to stop myself from slipping on a loose pebble.

'And what was the deal with that statue?'

"Treek?" I shout out, a part of me hoping that he is standing just at the edge of my vision, ready to tell me that nothing of what had happened was unusual and that I should simply follow him to get back out.

Though I know that there is no point in hoping. Yet just as I conclude that I wasn't going to get an answer to my shout, the strange voice returns, screeching much louder and more annoyingly than before, forcing me to cover my ears while my legs start running into the darkness in an attempt to escape from the ears shattering cries.

After a few moments, it disappears again, having left just as quickly as it had come and went the last time.

I let my ears spring back up and realize that I have arrived at the end of the bridge where another section of tunnel begins. Similar to the one connecting the cavern with the lake to the bridge that I had just arrived at the end of, this one is enclosed as well, detailing both walls and a ceiling as one would expect from a naturally formed tunnel.

I look up ahead and see a couple of corridors sprouting off from both side of the path, one of which to my right immediately grabs my attention with light falling through its entrance. I immediately recognize it as none other than the light that I am naturally drawn towards. - The light of the giant ball of flames hovering in the sky all day long. - Sunlight.

Without any doubt, my mind is set on reaching its flaming embrace as fast as possible and put an end to my strange excursion of being separated from Treek.

'I wonder what he will say once I tell him about all of this...' I wonder to myself, simply ignoring various other tunnels sprouting off of the path I had chosen, leading both up and down to end who-knows-where.

Some of them have small plates of metal attached to the wall next to them. Each filled with a unique and garbled mess of dots and lines, probably following some kind of scheme and maybe even being readable, the light guiding me and showing me the path proves to be too much of a distraction for me to inspect one of the plates more closely.

After taking one more turn, I finally reach where the light is originating from, finding myself standing inside the exit of the cavern.

A lush prairie of green opens up in front of me, most importantly featuring the sun it has been promising me since the beginning. It is a paradise, that any creature, no matter how high their standards of practicality are, wouldn't think twice about turning into their permanent territory.

"I've been waiting for you." A voice speaks clearly and with the voice of a creature dominant against my type. It must be water type. A master of the element I had already been forced to encounter one too many times, leaving me with anxiety as I spot it standing off in the distance, leaving me to assume that must have had the same idea as I did, maybe already process of going one step further and preparing itself to fight for the land it had rightfully claimed for itself.

Though its tone didn't sound particularly frightening, I decide not to take any chances and hush back into the cavern where I press my back up against the nearest wall, cowering in the shadows next to the exit and hoping that it wasn't me it had addressed, or would at least let me go after realizing that I don't have any intent to take away its territory.

'How did it even manage to speak this clearly from such a distance?' I wonder, with a part of me knowing for certain that it was me that had addressed.

I see the light flowing into the cavern next to me vanish, as fright and anxiety fill me to the brim with the thought of the creature standing just around the corner, ready to unleash its powers at the first sign of movement, with questions only being allowed after the act.

"Don't be afraid, Cyder." It starts speaking as I know more than ever that I should most definitely be afraid. Not only because it apparently thinks of me as someone I'm not, and even more though because I wouldn't stand a chance in a fight against it.

'You want it to end like this?' My ember finally makes itself heard. 'Cowering in the corner of a cavern, amount to enter a fight you know nothing about?'

'No.' I respond to myself before narrowing my eyes.

"No!" I shout, turning to see the blue creature towering next to me while turning to face the origin of my shout. Our eyes meet and the behemoth appears quite content and almost happy to see me.

'Maybe I can convince it that I'm this ~Cyder~ guy, so it will let me go.' I reach as a conclusion before deciding to take my chance in impersonating someone else.

"What's the matter?" The creature of blue asks me.

"Nothing much." I respond, doing my best to act naturally and as if I know exactly what is going on. "I just didn't expect to see you here."

"You didn't?" The Water Type responds. "But this is where you told me to wait for you, don't you remember me?"

I think for a moment, but after taking another few looks at the calm face cheerfully smiling at me, I decide to stop lying and hoping that the Water Type would not unleash its rage once he would figure out the truth.

"Listen." I begin, looking away and staring down the tunnel I originally came from. "I'm not this ~Cyder~ guy you must be looking for, and although I do really like the name, I've never heard of anyone being named that. And neither do I know who you are."

Looking back at the Water Type and feeling quite relieved as his face still doesn't portrait rage, but instead is looking at me with a tilted head and confused look, I continue to plead my case. "I have no idea how I got here, so if you could maybe just show me how to get out of here, that'd be great."

"Oh boy..." He says frowningly, looking away from me before heading towards the rocky wall opposite of the exit.

I consider the option of simply running away and finding the way back to Treek through the now unblocked exit to the cavern one my own. But considering how the Water Elemental now slowly sliding down the wall opposite of me, leaving the rock wet while getting comfortable, I conclude that I would stand a better chance of finding my way back if I had the help of another.

"Since you don't appear to remember it, I'm Mellow the Feraligatr." The Water Type, apparently named Mellow, states. "And while I still hope that you're just testing me, I do remember the warning you gave me."


	78. The Woods of Old Zissorine V

"Ugh!" I exclaim, realizing that there is still pain present in my flank.

"I told you, you wouldn't have to worry." Treek states, probably talking to the kids as I open my eyes to find myself back in the moody forest.

"What happened?" I ask, only slowly realizing that I'm waking up after just having lived through part of a memory I could never share with anyone, all the while the memories of my encounter with the Scyther return.

Hoping that I hadn't talked while I was asleep, some relieve fills me as Treek doesn't appear to be concerned about what I had just relived.

"Even though you won, that Scyther still managed to cut you just as you were torching him."

I try to move and the notice pain not being too severe as a part of me had originally feared and expected it to be. And with Treek not even complaining about the motion, I am free to continue getting my bearings as he explains what went down in further detail.

"It was quite a bad wound..." He continues while I stop listening for a moment to inspect the wound myself.

The fur is still tainted with the red color of my dried up live juice, yet as I carefully pad the wound, I feel nothing but the sensation of touching the fresh skin of a fully healed injury.

"But besides losing some blood and looking quite horrendous, it wasn't anything life-threatening." Treek explains as I resume listening to him. "Something I had forgotten to mention about dungeons is the fact that battle wounds heal much quicker inside of them, than they would in the real world. Yet on the downside..."

He suddenly aborts his sentence and I quickly stand up in fear of already being faced with another battle.

But as I look around, I can see that the group has returned to the clearing that we had started in. - Probably because it is much easier to spot an approaching enemy, the only reason Treek has stopped mid-sentence is to hand me one of the enormous berries that his sister had packed before we set out.

I quickly accept the food as I realize that my stomach is completely empty to say the least. And as I take a huge bite, just about taking out half of it without even trying, Treek continues.

"On the downside thought, you need to eat much more. - Especially if your body's got, or had some healing to do."

I think for a moment about what could be having this effect on us while we're trapped inside, but before too much time passes, my still injured body rips me back into reality as a spark of pain arches through my wound, instantly making me regret the action of standing up so quickly.

"Thanks Treek." I finally respond, wanting to thank him for the fruit, but realizing that he has sat down with the others.

Distracted by the encounter with the Scyther, as well as the memory I relived while I was out, I hadn't even noticed that I'm the only one who had been handed some food as the entire Team appears to be taking a much needed food break.

Cari is keeping a small ember for her Zorua friend alive, allowing her to see the food as well, as both she and Nina, as well as her brother hungrily munch on the fruits that were given to each of them.

Treek, finally realizing that I had addressed him turn towards me, just about done eating his own fruit while I realize that mine had already vanished completely, leaving me with nothing but soggy paws slowly dripping the juices into the grass all around.

"What for?" He asks back, making it quite clear to me that I hadn't been paying attention for some time.

Although my initial thanks was only referring to being handed the fruit, him asking what I was thankful for makes me realize just how much there is I can be thankful for towards him.

"I guess the fruit..." I answer slowly, pushing the thought away while realizing that the danger is far from over. "And for getting me out of there."

Treek tilts his head while Cari finishes her berry and turns to face us.

The Grass Type isn't too used to me just thanking him out-of-the-blue. But I hope that he knowns that I'm always quite grateful, not only for his, but everyone's help, even though it isn't something I address quite as often as I really should.

"But you did all the work." He retorts, not understanding that the statement wasn't really meant as something to be discussed. "I mean sure: I had to carry you and got some burn marks along the way, but we didn't encounter any other ferals before reaching this clearing."

Realizing the fact that we might be in a different clearing, but still deciding to ignore it, something else about what had transpired grabs my attention.

"There's something I don't understand." I begin, once again grabbing the Grass Type's attention just as he was about to turn back and take another look around.

I think for a moment to try and find a way of putting my thought without referring to the other Grass Type that was originally accompanying us. But not wanting to leave the Treecko hanging, I decide to go for it and put it in as light of a context as possible.

"You said before that once you get knocked out, the dungeon will scatter all of your supplies."

Treek, still facing stops moving for a moment, and it doesn't take a psychic to tell that I've already managed to remind him of his sister. But as he tries to uphold his strength and responds in a voice surprisingly disguising most, if not all of his distress, I feel a bit of relieve for not having reminded him too much.

"Yes, what about that?"

"I was just wondering: did we lose any of our supplies?" I continue to speak my thoughts before quickly adding onto my question while taking a peek at the bag hanging over the Grass Type's shoulder. "I mean: we couldn't have lost all of them."

"The exact rules aren't quite clear and nobody ever wanted to really test them out." He begins, most definitely no sorrow present in his voice as he has either already managed to distract himself from the thought of what he still fears to have happened to his sister, or is proving to be much better than I thought at controlling emotions. "But the usual rule is that supplies will only be scattered once... nobody remains to claim them in the same section."

Although pausing for a moment at a very particular point, Treek has no problems moving on with his explanation.

"Sometimes it will take away stuff you were holding at the time, and some of the later dungeons even occasionally even let you keep most, if not all of your supplies."

He finishes and I turn around to look at the clearing, finally realizing that it isn't the one we started in as I spot a winding path leading into the forest a couple of dozen meters behind us.

"Wasn't this one of the dungeons you went through last time?" I continue to wander while my eyes remain fixated on the path.

Surprising me at first, there really is no other way to plainly state it being a real path. With gravel covering the ground, it gives the appearance of a badly maintained or simply very old road leading who knows where, while being something I surely hadn't expected to see after getting trapped inside.

"I have." Treek responds, pausing to think for a moment as I turn around to see everyone having finished their meals and looking at the Treecko as he now represents the center of attention.

"But it was at a much later point." He continues before concluding. "And I certainly don't remember this moody lighting."

Pointing up to the sky, I am once again reminded of the darkness surrounding us, only to be penetrated by the strange and dim light not even visible to the Dark Type accompanying us.

"But I guess we should move on, because like it or not: that was the last of the supplies Melissa had packed."

Treek becomes silent and I cringe a bit as he walks passed me on his way towards the gravel path with his head still facing the sky, probably not wanting to share or even admit his fear to the rest of us.

But as he walks by, I notice a shimmer of light reflecting of a tear that had managed to escape his eyes for obvious reasons. Though while nothing should have happened but me sharing his fears, I realize that something is odd about the light.

Because not only was its hue unlike the gray and daunting glow flooding the land all around us, featuring the yellow and lively colors of the sun, it is much too bright to simply be the reflection of the lighting that we had witnessed thus far.

Something similar had happened during the battle against the Scyther, yet while I hadn't had any time to think about it then, this time I take the moment to look around and search for the source of the reflected light. Yet no trace of what I had witnessed remains.

'You're imagining stuff again.' I conclude to myself before getting up as Cari and Nina pass by, the Cyndaquil not actually riding on her friend this time, probably in order to not deplete the fox's strength faster than necessary, before Tolan stops in front of me and sends me a questioning look.

"Yeah." I respond to his unspoken question before brushing through a tuft on his head. "I'll get up..."

Treek is fast to arrive at the road, followed by Nina and her Cyndaquil companion quickly catching up before Tolan and I arrive last.

I stand at the border of the path and take a look around.

Seemingly only passing through the clearing and connecting to who-knows-what, there is no doubt that nobody had been there to maintain it for a very long time.

What probably was once a highly travelled path, at least judging by its width and the amount of gravel that was put into its construction, now it is covered with weeds and fallen trunks.

Towards the left the paved ground leads back into the thicket, not giving any hints as to where it would have originally lead. With a particularly old looking tree having sprouted up from the ground and blocking, as well as destroying enough of the road to make it pretty much impossible to spot, I turn away to inspect the other direction.

I was the only one to look left before looking down our right. And as I begin staring just as the others are, my eyes fall on a sight so unexpected that it manages to send a shiver through my spine.

The path is straight and there isn't much in the way that would cause us problems when most definitely deciding traverse it. And even though it is long and at parts broken enough to rival its left-paw-side counterpart, it still leads to something every single one of us had been craving ever since setting foot into the darkness that are the woods all around.

Light. – In some places, there is a tree in the way to cover the sight, but it can clearly be seen, that a large spot of brightness lies at the horizon, with the path to our right leading straight towards it.

It is too bright and while my eyes adjust to the sight and I take a moment to look up at the sky and see a cleanly cut line where the blue of the outside world borders against the gray unpleasantness of the dungeon holding us hostage.

What we are looking at is the freedom that we had been unknowingly and instinctively searching for ever since being forced to participate in the play laid out by the dungeon.

"That must be the exit." Nina whispers, having no problems to see the light just as well as the rest of us.

Treek deciding to remain suspicious responds to her while starting to head for the light on the horizon. "You should better call it progress."

"But isn't that the exit?" I ask before Nina has a chance to, catching up and once again having to slow down as my healing wounds reminds me of their presence. "Wouldn't that make sense?"

Treek, carefully leading the group as we navigate around a fallen branch once again begins explaining. "It might be, and it might not be."

Taking a pause to wait for the rest of the team, as Nina still not able to see her surroundings and having to rely upon one of us Fire Types lighting the way, now has to deal with the fact of being blinded by the bright sun crying for attention while being featured on the horizon.

"I admit that it would make sense for that to be the exit." The Grass Type continues explaining as he turns around to lead the group once again after being satisfied with the size of the gap between us. "But you'll never know for sure until you actually get there."

Neither Nina nor I decide to ask any more questions as we quietly follow Treek, with some time passing and the light on the horizon growing closer and bright with each step we take.

I do my best to not to stare at it directly, with its brightness completely ruining my night vision, something that might prove quite deadly if I had to judge by the wound still stinging from time to time, or whenever I make a wrong move.

Jet just as I had taken it upon myself to look up and check on our progress, Tolan decides to speak up and utter a question to Treek.

"If it isn't the exit, then what is it? And why are we heading there?"

'Good question, coming from a smart kid.' I think to myself, feeling overcome by a tiny bit of shame for not even having considered the thought before Tolan had uttered it.

"If it's not the exit, it will be the next section of the dungeon." Treek responds while I stare back down to the ground, hoping that I wouldn't trip while my eyes would hopefully adjust back to the darkness relatively quickly.

"But in any case, it's progress and we'll need to get there."


	79. The Town of Old Zissorine

The border of light has been growing ever closer as we continue on our way towards it. And while I continuously try to keep myself from staring at the light, not wanting to ruin my vision while there might still be a predator lingering around the next bush, occasionally I do throw a glimpse at what is up ahead.

Treek jumps over a fallen tree that was blocking the path, and after following him while carrying the light as Tolan and Cari have yet to gain the strength of permanently casting a flame, I start to notice the shimmer in the corner of my eyes getting brighter with every passing step.

"I think I can start to make out some of the terrain again." Nina states as I notice her walking to my left, with Cari a short distance ahead and Tolan to my right.

"I think so too." I respond before finally convincing myself to look up and take a look at the sight.

All of our previous assessments were true, and what is up ahead is most definitely sunlight shining as brightly and pleasantly as it gets. And with the mere sight of it alone waking my core and filling me with the craving of simply lying underneath the giant ball of flames in the sky, recharging my body with all the warmth and light it figuratively lost to the darkness, a smile manages to spread over my face, only to vanish when I notice the Treecko walking in front of me without paying any attention to the beauty what-so-ever.

I rub my eyes for a moment, trying to quickly adjust due to the shine still being too bright for me to make out anything. But as I release my paws from my eyes, the image of what is ahead start to appear clearly enough to make out.

I can see a couple of buildings. Still shrouded in light too bright for me to make out, I fail to pick up on some minor details, but I can already say for certain it isn't Laizisso that we've stumbled upon.

After probably and finally considering the rest of us, Treek stops for a moment to let the team catch up. But standing just at the rim of where night changes into day in an instant, he may as well have already stepped outside.

'Maybe there's something we have to look out for when leaving.' I think to myself, not considering the possibility that the Grass Type is probably just looking out for us.

But my thoughts are cut short as I arrive at the border second, stopping for a moment, but not having enough time to even open my mouth before Nina is first to dash into the brightness, only to have nothing of interest happening other than the fox now standing in the light, making it quite clear that she is enjoying every second of it.

Not wanting to get left out, I take one last look at the Grass Type, which he returns with a look of minor regret, and the two of us cross the border together while I notice the two Cyndaquils accompanying us already lying in the grass directly beyond and enjoying themselves by taking in as much of the heat from above as they possibly can.

Just a moment before crossing, I notice that for some reason I'm able to hear Nina, Tolan and Cari or anything at all coming from the other side. But after arriving in the light, the first thing that happens is my ears popping before revealing all of nature's sound that I only now notice had been missing the entire time.

Swallowing to adjust my hearing to what must have been a change in air pressure, I can once again understand all of it.

Birds, rustling leaves, and most importantly the kids cheering with Nina being the happiest of them all as she is once again able to see on her own.

"We made it!" She shouts, not holding back any of her excitement and probably not even caring that she just managed to startle some of the birds I previously heard.

Looking up and turning around, I can no longer see any indication of the dungeon as we witnessed it was just a few moments ago.

I can see the path we took, with all of its fallen trees and worn out gravel. But unlike before, it is brightly alit, with all the shadows being properly casted by the trees surrounding it.

Continuing to look for the birds, I thing that I managed to get a glimpse on one, but after blinking once, it is no longer where it should have been, as it was just about to cross into the air space of the thicket all around.

"Treek?" I ask carefully, pushing aside the pleasure of feeling the sun again for a moment.

Probably interrupting the Grass Type from doing the same, as he had his eyes closed and neck stretched into the air, enjoying the sensation and warmth just as much as I should be, he opens his eyes and after blinking them a couple of times turns towards me.

"I'm sorry for what happened earlier." I begin carefully. "I know you only have the best in mind for not just me, but everyone, yet..."

I abruptly stop talking as a loud voice angrily shouting through the air interrupts me.

"HOLDER!" It cries in a familiar tone, causing me to flinch and turn towards its origin.

It is coming from one of the buildings I had yet to inspect closer, as the apparent vanishing of the dungeon behind us, alongside the sun's presence had fully managed to grab my attention thus far.

A Grovyle stands on a moldy set of stairs leading to one of these most definitely abandoned monuments of long-outdated architecture.

It is Melissa, a fact that her relative standing beside me beings to realize too.

With the Treecko standing in front of me and to the right, a smile of joy appears out of nowhere and takes over his entire expression in the blink of an eye, with tears of happiness forming below the Grass Type's eyes.

He is understandably happy, just as happy as I would be if it was me in his situation. Yet unlike how I had expected this moment to play out, the feeling isn't unanimous at all, as the Grovyle narrows her eyes and begins marching towards me.

"HOLDER!" She repeats as I start to wonder why she keeps repeating this fact that everyone around already knows.

Checking my hat quickly, I can confirm that it is still where it should be, meaning that if for some reason she had forgotten what she previously learned, this wouldn't be another of those situations in which I accidentally reveal the fact to everyone.

She gets closer and closer and I start to notice numerous additional figures in the shadows of the buildings all around.

With a total of five houses visible from my point of view, the first thing I notice are an Ivysaur's vines retreating into the shadows between the first and second from the left.

Sitting in the shade of a piece of cloth mounted between the walls of them, he was probably sleeping before waking up to the shouting of Treek's sister.

More movement to my right catches my eye, as my joy quickly diminishes and I start to understand that this isn't going to be as joyous of a reunion as I had fully expected it to be until now.

A Zigzagoon stretches its neck around the corner of a building before quickly and almost as if out of fear retreating when realizing that I had spotted him.

The cheers from my teammates have died down and all eyes are directed towards the Grovyle advancing further and further towards me.

She glances at Treek for a moment, throwing him a look of disgust that he surely has just as hard of a time interpreting as I have, before wasting no time and moving on with staring me down.

"It was a mistake to come here." She snarls at me one last time before turning her previously steady pacing into a wild dash heading directly towards me.

Not having expected such a confrontation, I know that whatever happens I can't risk hurting her, even if she remains intent on harming me, or worse. - No: I can't even touch her. Treek probably wouldn't be too fond of his sister suffering some nasty burn wounds, even if she was the one approaching me for a fight in the first place.

Instead, I decide to time my movement and juke her admittedly pretty basic attack.

"rrrAAAHH!" She shouts as she is just about to hit me and I move to evade her path. Though she anticipates my move. And despite jumping, I still get hit by the razor-sharp edge of a leave she had summoned.

It cuts the skin of my left arm, something I don't even notice as the adrenaline of the situation manages to suppress the pain entirely.

"What are you doing Melissa? Stop!" Treek shouts to her, the shock of the moment having passed after regaining his ability to speak and realizing that his sister didn't intend for a happy reunion.

Unexpectedly, the Grovyle does actually stop for a moment, while I get up after having landed on my back and quickly inspect the wound on my arm.

"What gives you the right?" She shouts back at her brother in disgust. "You're the one following and supporting that terrorist!"

Not giving her brother any chance of responding, she instead turns back to face me.

The anger is written in her eyes, and I would love to figure out what caused her to build up this much rage against me.

I know she is planning her next attack against me, as she angrily stares me down and lets a few moments pass.

Though I don't waste the time, flaring the flames on my back as to look more threatening, hopefully discouraging her from launching another attack out of fear of getting her leaves seared.

Yet something different happens, as I hear a cry of pain from behind that causes me to hastily turn around, for a moment even forgetting that I am still in battle.

It is the Ivysaur that I previously saw lying in the shadows. Maybe in a not so well thought out plan of immobilizing me, he had crept up on me before extending his vines, and was just in the process of grabbing me when I flared the fire, searing both of him stretched out grassy ropes.

He is in pain and despite him being the attacker, I feel bad as my plan was to avoid hurting anyone until the fighting would stop, hopefully without me getting injured either, or considering the red line running across my arm: more injured.

With one of the vines still alit and using the other charred and mildly smoking and being used to put out the ember, the inferno on my back has disappeared after I stopped actively flaring the flames before realizing that there is still the imminent threat of the Grovyle behind me.

Only too late do I remember her and while being in the process of turning away from the badly hurt Ivysaur clearly in pain, I get no chance to take another look at my opponent before getting tackled in my side and knocked to the ground.

Although the impact hurts, I believe that none of my bones are broken, but with the more pressing matter of me now being pinned to the ground in the shadow of the nearest hut, with the raging Melissa directly above me, even having given her another reason to hate me for injuring the Ivysaur most definitely working alongside her, I notice Treek's continuously shouts begging us to stop.

"STOP!" He shouts again while the Grovyle pinning me down to the ground and having grabbed both of am arms, making it impossible for me to use anything but my core in defense, continues to ignore his pleads.

"Fight Me, You Plague!" She shouts at me, so much hatred present in her voice that I have to wonder what it is that must have happened to her after running away from the team.

'She lost her bag of supplies, so I guess her experience must have been even more unpleasant than mine.' I wonder, still counting on the assumption that she should start listening to her brother at some point.

"ANSWER ME!" She blares in my ears while something that I assume to me a tear of anger drops from her nose and lands on my back.

My hat has long since fallen off, and from what little I can see, other than the shadows of the houses standing all around, as well as the Zigzagoon once again staring at me before quickly retreating after noticing that I found him, any doubt that anyone would have had about my identity is long gone.

The urge to simply reignite my ember is great, but I continuing to stick to my plan of considering what will happen and hurting her and everyone else as little as possible, I remain focused on suppressing the elemental will to show my element's superiority over hers.

"Why should I fight you?" I ask calmly, though intently, yet still huffing hard as the position she is holding me in makes it difficult for me to breathe.

"Stop it, Melissa!" Treek interrupts our conversation yet again, while neither of us pays him any attention before Melissa answers my question.

"Because That Is Who You Are!" I get as an answer, alongside a jolt of pain as the Grovyle twists my left arm without releasing any of the pressure she is putting into holding them down, despite me not having made any attempts of wriggling my away out of their grasp. "You live to fight; you live to hurt others! You're an outlaw, and the worst kind there is."

The fact that her voice had gotten a little bit calmer gives me some hope that she might be ready to listen to reason. Yet the propaganda she continues to shout at me says otherwise.

This is exactly what the governments are trying to teach everyone. Instead of pointing out the truth, official history has casually forgotten about the fact that it wasn't me who published the technology that broke the balance of the world.

No: according to the official lore, it was all part of my master plan to set the world ablaze. A lie that is sadly quite believable when considering the fiery core I arrived with this time.

What the young learn in school, is to hand me over to the officials if they ever manage to get ahold of me, with the reasoning being that I would have to be given a chance of redeeming myself. Everyone is teaching it, with the only difference being which nation the brainwashed population is supposed to hand me over to.

"What makes you say that I'm an outlaw?" I respond, having troubles to form the words, as the constant pressure being put on my back starts blurring my vision.

"MELISSA!" Treek shouts, surprising both me and the Grass Type he is addressing as I notice some of the pressure being relieved while my vision slowly begins normalizing.

I assume that the Grovyle has turned to face her brother. And in the short moment of silence, I hear the weak sobbing of the Ivysaur still caressing his burn wounds.

"It's not true." Treek continues talking now that he appears to have managed his sister's ear. "You've never been out there to see the world with your own eyes."

He pauses for a moment and I begin paying attention as well. Since I always assumed that he was raised to put his trust into freedom, a fact that he always decides to emphasize in every kind of situation, I always expected this to be the way his parents raised him. Yet since that can't be the case when judging by the way his sister acts, being a loyal citizen of Sazari and appearing willing to do her part in helping her oppressive government, there must be a different reason why Treek didn't turn out like she did.

"You know that I ran away from home." He continues as I notice that the Ivysaur had stopped sopping, as well as the return of the Zigzagoon, no longer staring at me but instead where I assume Treek to be standing while I am forced to stare into the shadow below moldy wooden box I am pinned down next to.

"You know I did so to not become too attached to a single place, but instead see and travel the world to witness all the places there are to see."

Taking another pause, I feel a little more of the pressure being released as he continues.

"So you can trust me when I say that I know what's out there, and that it isn't what we were taught in school."

'But that would mean that Treek knew that no one else in his family would approve of me being the Holder.' I wonder for a moment before the Grass Type, not being able to read my thoughts continues.

"It is a world of anguish, fear and hatred. A world our ancestors created. A world that we are too blind to see, filled with problems that you are only worsening by believing the lie."

The pressure returns and once again I have troubles breathing as Melissa obviously isn't believing what her brother is telling her while still deciding to let him continue.

"There is a war out there. War fuel by desire and envy, both of which are completely unnecessary, as we already had all we needed, but lost it all to the hope of getting more that we need."

"Our ancestors were spoiled by the technology they obtained, none of which was given to them by the Holder, but was instead taken without asking for permission that wouldn't have been given..."

"Lier." Melissa interrupts him, probably only having waited for some minor mistake in Treek's explanation as she must still be hoping to get him to join her cause.

The pressure on my arms once again increases and I can hear an unpleasant cracking coming from somewhere near my right shoulder, followed by another sear of pain that manages to send tears into my eyes and makes it quite difficult for me to keep suppressing the urge of simply give in to my ember and letting it handle the situation.

"The holder gave our ancestors all of our modern technology because he knew that the world would end up in flames! You say that we took it from him, but them why did he ever write down the knowledge if he never intended for us to have it?"

'That's something I've been wondering too from time to time. - I should have just left it in the library.' I try to distract myself from the pain while squinting my eyes and doing my best to still be able to breath under the conditions I find myself in.

"I don't know." Treek responds, a little bit too casually for his sister's taste, as I receive her response by my left shoulder joining my right as I hear another cracking sound coming from the joint.

"So you admit that it wasn't his choice to hand it over then." He continues talking, not pausing to give the Grovyle slowly crushing me a chance to respond. "But can't you see how he's not even trying to fight you?"

Some of the pressure holding me down diminishes and I am once again able to breath more easily. Maybe Melissa has found some more reasoning in the words of her own kin, or maybe my joints have just given up in trying to keep my posture, allowing my body to remain in a position it most definitely wasn't designed for.

"You think I'm stupid?" Melissa retorts. "Of course I noticed. And in case you haven't noticed, he's only holding back because he doesn't want to lose you allegiance until you've left his prison again!"

"His prison?" Treek wonders out loud, something I would have done with him in unison, but only manage to think the words alongside him.


	80. The Prisoners of Old Zissorine

"I case you haven't realized where we are: We're not in Laizisso anymore." Melissa explains annoyed.

'I realized that.' I think to myself, still trying to keep my thought process alive and my ember from harming the creature on top of me.

'With her skin made out of leaves and entire body being too easy to turn into a walking torch...' I shake the thought aside and return to trying to focus on not giving in while Treek as the one being addressed answers the question.

"Yeah." Treek responds. "I recognize this place: It's Old Zissorine. And if I remember correctly, we were on a school trip once where they showed us this place."

"I don't know if all of it is nothing but an illusion." The Grovyle interrupts him. "But everything beyond the tree line most definitely is."

"What?" I hear a new voice shout out before realizing that it is Nina who had spoken out of line, resulting in Melissa twisting my arms further, if that would even make a difference, while probably throwing an angry glare at the Dark Type and thinking that she had all the right in the world to suspect her of being evil when she had first recognized her as what she is.

"What do you mean by that?" Treek restates the question, his voice sounding different as I assume that Nina went off to test the border to the darkness for truly being there.

But while everyone if silent for a few moments, something happens that quite literally allows me to once again breathe, as the entire weight that was put on me disappears.

I still remain lying where I am, with the shadow of the building next to me casting its darkness over me in a feeble attempt of blocking out the sun when compared against the world of night beyond the border that Nina is about to re-visit.

"Hand me the rope." I can hear Melissa state, probably talking to one of the other inhabitants of this apparent prison, the concept of which I slowly begin to understand before realizing what is about to happen.

I can feel cloth being tightened around my knuckles, keeping my hands bounds behind my back, all-the-while failing to keep myself from smiling about the act despite the pain of my dislocated shoulders still racing through my mind.

'You think this is going to stop a Fire Type?' I wonder as I realize that Melissa had finished tying the knot. 'I've gotten out of much more robust bindings, and I hope you don't think that you can stop me with a flammable piece of string.'

But realizing that I probably won't be taking advantage of this, as it would only lead to another battle in which I would be forced to injure many more than I already and accidentally have, I'm simply happy that for the pressure pinning me to the ground and occasional twisting of my arms finally being gone.

"See that!" Melissa concludes while I try to turn and see what is happening, but for the first time realizing that moving with both of my shoulders dislocated while also having my paws bounds is not only painful, but practically impossible as the pain managed to stop me from moving.

Accepting the fact that I'm going to see any of the action, I instead decide to once again stare at the Zigzagoon until he spots me and once again retreats when Melissa continues speaking.

"We've tried to find our way through it, but not only did we always end up back in here, but I myself nearly died the last time we attempted to do so."

'If it works similarly to the library, I guess the gateway must be located in Old Zissorine then.' I wonder to myself, slowly starting to understand the dilemma that Melissa and the others had been facing.

'But for how long?' I conclude before Treek, now apparently able to read my thoughts asks the question for me.

"How long have you been here?" He states, sounding quite confused as he, just like me, slowly understands what happened to his sister while he was worried.

"Don't act stupid!" Melissa shouts back, once again sounding quite angry while I instinctively flinch as my body was expecting to be punished by the Grass Type further twisting its arms. Yet seeing how she had since let go of me, I find a little bit of relieve before realizing the pain resulting from the dislocated limbs she had left me with.

"You know full well how long your ~friend~ has already kept us in here." Melissa adds to her statement before receiving her answer.

"First of all." Treek begins. "Who is ~us~, and second of all: no, I have no idea."

"I know what you're trying to do: you're trying to distract me from seeing the truth." Pausing for a moment, maybe to way for an answer, the Grovyle quickly moves on with her accusations. "You know that it's been a couple of months, at least. And while I have no idea what all of the other 'mons did to your friend to end up in here, it's the same story for all of us."

"We entered that forest that you so desperately wanted me to go to with you before leaving me to fend for myself." She explains before pausing for a moment. "I lost my supplies and after barely managing not to get killed by those soul-less, feral killing machines he set up as guards, I ended up here just like everyone else."

Once again wondering how many sentient 'mons are actually around us, I realize that Melissa is probably concealing the information, thinking it would lower her strategical position.

"Dad?" Another, unexpected voice makes itself heard, which I quickly identify as Tolan's. Probably concerned as I had yet to move a muscle since the Grovyle let go of me, Treek had probably already tried to keep him and his sister from running to me.

"I'm OK son." I quickly respond, not wanting to frighten him, or cause him to come over to face the wrath of the Grovyle probably still towering over me, only to interrupt myself by a sudden urge to cough resulting from the difficulties I had breathing a few of moments ago.

"Stay where you are for now." I conclude before almost being interrupted by Melissa speaking over me.

"And believe me." She quickly states before anyone else has a chance of reacting. "If you and me weren't sharing the same blood, or the others weren't kids, you'd all be sitting there next to your terroristic friend until we've figured out what to do next."

"But you were the one who ran away from us." Treek responds, cringing a bit while trying to ignore the repeated mentioning of me being a terrorist and referring to his sister's statement before Tolan had interrupted their conversation. "And we just finished getting through that dungeon ourselves."

"See!" Melissa instantly interrupts him. "You said it yourself: this thing is a prion."

"No." Treek retorts. "That's not what I meant. – It's a different kind of dungeon."

He pauses for a moment before concluding in a lowered voice. "Just forget I said anything."

I know that the Grovyle will probably not ~just forget it~. But seeing how the situation is kind-of under control, and knowing that me speaking up at this time would just result in what little trust Treek had managed to rebuild, I continue to remain silent and listen to the conversation going on.

"You know what, Treek." Melissa begins again after a short moment of silence, speaking in a tone that appears a little bit too sweet to me. "I know exactly what you're trying to do, and in case you still think you're getting somewhere, I'm not going to fall for any of it."

"I'm not trying to..." Treek tries to interrupt his sister, but doesn't get the chance to finish his sentence as the Grovyle ignores his interruption and continues to talk over him.

"While I don't know why you've decided to come here, I know one thing for certain..."

Melissa takes another short pause, and while everyone is silent and not even Treek attempts to speak up, I mentally give the answer alongside the Grass Type speaking on behalf of all of my ~prisoners~.

"He knows of a way out."

Treek doesn't give an answer, probably because he can't think of anything to say, while I am left wondering if there even is a way out.

'I would need to know why this ghost town isn't part of the dungeon.' I begin thinking, mainly trying to distract myself from the pain still soaring through my mind and originating from my dislocated shoulders.

"Take him away." Melissa states, an exclamation that I don't even realize while I continue to ponder my thoughts.

'At least I don't think they're broken.' I find myself already being distracted by the mere realization of my situation and reminder of the main in my shoulders. Yet before I can force myself to continue wondering about a way out, not just for my own good, but for good of all the other inmates of ~my prison~, knowing and hoping that I could convince them not to ruin their peaceful haven by making my presence public, I feel something tugging at my arms, sending another flash of pain through my head.

"Get up." A new voice tells me while I simultaneously wonder who it might belong to, why I should get up and most importantly how the owner is expecting me to accomplish this.

"I can't." I cough weakly, even surprising myself as to how weak my voice sounds and making me fear that I might take away some kind of permanent injury from the encounter.

Yet the speaker doesn't give me an answer while I find a vine appearing underneath my stomach, gently lifting me from the ground and helping me get on my own two feet.

"Don't do this Melissa." Treek states in a sad voice, making the thought that he just had quite clear and sending a shock of fear through my weakened body.

"We're not the terrorists here." Melissa answers him, before pausing, this time facing me from behind while I notice the strength of the vine previously having helped me off the ground now tightly grabbing my bound hands and starting to lead me into the alleyway that I had originally saw the Ivysaur sleep in.

"Put him in the well for now." She states, commanding the creature of which I can now say for certain to be the Ivysaur that I had previously injured when he attempted to get a jump on me while I was flaring my fire.

I know that the is keeping his distance and I don't dare to take a look behind me while he continues to lead me through the narrow gap between the run down housings.

Yet after taking a few steps and their roofs having started to completely shield the path from the sun, leaving me to once again walk through darkness, it finally hits me where it is that I'm being lead.

After the initial shock, I quickly conclude that there can't possibly be any water left in the well. It might be dank and most definitely at least as dark as this alley, but even if it wasn't for Melissa quite clearly stating that her plan is to escape and hand me over to the officials of Sazari, I take it that the well of an abandoned ghost town would have dried out a long time ago.

"I'm sorry you got hurt." I speak to the Ivysaur leading me just as he directs me to turn left at the corner of the rundown and broken wall to the left of me. I try not to speak too loudly as to not alert anyone or get the Grass Type troubles in case he'd decide to respond, even managing to disguise the pain that every step and movement is causing me.

The town isn't very big. And not too much to my delight, I can already spot the promised well standing in the middle of a small plaza surrounded by not more than three buildings in total, the one we just took a left behind being one of them.

"It'll heal." He responds as I realize that he has appeared next to me, contradicting my previous assumption of him keeping his distance before realizing that he must have assumed that walking next to me is probably the safest thing to do when it comes to not accidentally getting burned.

Silence settles back in and I dare to take a look around just as we arrive at the fountain.

Nobody is following us and the sun is still standing high in the sky, shining directly down on everything below, just as it was already doing when we arrived in its warm embrace.

"It is true what they say about you?" The Ivysaur asks me after we come to a stop in front of the well and my eyes fall on him, wondering how he was planning on lowering me into the depths.

"No." I respond, speaking truthfully and hoping that the pain distracting me wasn't going to make it appear as though I am lying. "And the fact that you decided to ask me of all 'mons should convince you of the truth in my answer."

The Ivysaur continues to stare at me and doesn't move a muscle. I don't think he is waiting for someone else to come and help him lower me into the dried up, ancient source of water, solidified with sandy bricks and not appearing to have taken the years of missed maintenance any better than the rest of the town.

Originally built out of sandstone and long since abused by nature's way of reclaiming what-ever a 'mon would abandon, it even makes me wonder if there is any humidity left in its depths at all. Yet taking a quick peek inside, being thankful for the sun shining straight down and illuminating it all the way to its bottom, I can see that no water is inside and that it can't be deeper than five meters.

I realize that I have given the much more simple-minded creature a lot to consider. But realizing that sooner or later I would end up in the well in any case, I am just about to tell the Grass Type to go ahead and do his job, a part of me hoping that once I'm alone in the well I could undo the ropes binding my arms and maybe even find a way to fix my dislocated shoulders, he speaks again.

"Lie on your stomach and try not to shout." He tells me while I wonder what he is planning on doing, but also realizing that not only should I do as he says, it might actually be advantageous to me.

Once again helping me lie down with his vines, I obey his command only to quickly learn that he has untying the rope binding my paws.

I watch as he anxiously takes a look behind him, probably to make sure that no one is watching, while I once again notice the Zigzagoon spying on us from behind a corner, something that the Ivysaur appears to not have noticed, before his voice grabs my attention again.

My eyes fall on his seared vines as he begins to speak and I have to wonder if and for how long wielding coal would be hurting the poor creature.

"This is going to hurt, but you'll thank me later."

I know what he is going to do, and I know that it is going to hurt a lot, as well as that I am going to be more than thankful if he can actually pull it off.

The Grass Type is planning to relocate my shoulders, something I would have attempted to do myself once I was left alone again. Yet here I am feeling like I had already managed to make another ally behind the back of my latest enemy Melissa.

I press my teeth together and anxiously await the jolt of pain that was about to come. And just as I was about to wonder why I hadn't felt anything yet, feeling the urge to ask the Ivysaur if something was wrong, something else manages to distract me as I notice someone entering the scene.

Melissa has stepped around the corner that the Ivysaur and I had come from. I can see the Zigzagoon retreating into the shadows, hoping that nobody had even seen him at all while Melissa's reaction is contrary to his.

~ Crack ~

A sudden jolt of pain soars through my head, originating from not only one but both of my shoulders and being something that I should, was for the longest time, but in the end still hadn't been prepared for.

I shout out uncontrollably from the pain fortunately vanishing quickly, and leaving me to only produce a short bust of sound.

Shouts can be heard coming from near, originating from the rest of my team that is probably already on their way to aid me in my troubles.

Filled with mixed emotions of being glad to be relieved from the pain of two dislocated shoulders, I absentmindedly crack my knuckles while the Grovyle narrows her eyes and angrily snorts at me, focusing her eyes on me after dismissing the Ivysaur with a short look of angry disappointment.

"I'll deal with you later, deceiver." She states, snarling and glimpsing at the helpful Grass Type while I snap back to my senses.

Dashing around the well and using it as a sort of shield, I notice Treek, Nina and the kids arriving on the scene before the Ivysaur tries to reason for his actions.

"I think we've gotten it all wrong." The tries to talk to the enraged Grovyle, which at this point I can only assume to be the town's self-appointed mayor.

"We're all in this together." Treek tries to argue from behind, making me wonder if his sister even heard him through her own growls.

"Please." I finally grab the chance to speak on my own behalf, all-the-while stepping around the well in an attempt to keep as much distance from the Grovyle doing the same, even though she probably could just jump over it and get a hit on me without even putting too much effort into it.

"I'm trapped in here just as you are." I continue my attempts of trying to argue with her before deciding to take a different approach.

"Seriously Melissa." I shout, finally using some of the pent up anger. "Are you really thing freaking stupid?"

Shouting at her and speaking my mind about her ignorance, her expression changes slightly as I continue to explain my opinion. "You really think you have to lock me up just so I won't run away?"

Baring her teeth, she begins taking a slightly more defensive position while still not stopping to slowly dance around the well with me on the other side.

"Do you know that this is!?" I shout at her while summoning a sizeable flame in right paw, waving it over the well and in front of her, coming close enough for me to know that she should can to feel the heat, warmth, and to her potential fatal danger.

She immediately and instinctively takes a step back, keeping quite a sizeable distance from the well, but still refusing to back down as I notice the grass covering the ground become stiff, only to start flailing at me the moment that the Grovyle would decide to launch her own elemental attack.

But it isn't intimidating me. Not only do I know of my blatant superiority towards her typing, but I know that no creature of Grass in any sensible state of mind would ever dare to willingly approach a burning flame with the intent of fighting it. It is a Grass Type's natural instinct and weakness. And one that is not to dismiss, as it wouldn't matter what I decided to set ablaze if I so chose. Not just because the spreading inferno would sooner or later engulf everything, but also because every creature of Grass in the vicinity would sense the danger and be taken over by the instinct of either extinguishing the flame, or in most cases escape to safety.

"Are you really this uneducated to not realize my typing?" I shout at her again, still waving the flame while I can see her eyes mirror of the dancing reflection of candle.

"I hope you know that I could have done this from the beginning." I shout, this time not affecting her stance before I decide to stop walking around the well, only to have the Grovyle mirror my movements and stand still on the other side.

"Grass Types sneaking up on me, cloth ropes, - what's next?" I continue explaining. "You actually committing to fight me? - How could I expect any different from a creature that has proven herself with decision as great as these."

After pausing for a moment and collecting my thoughts to prevent my ember from doing something irrational, I give my closing statement.

"So either Back Down, or face the inevitability of your demise if that is really what you want!" I conclude as the Grass Type opposite of me relaxes, leaving me to know that I'm finally back in control.

I can feel the blades of grass surrounding me relax and return to their former loose posture, while I finally feel like I've managed to stop the fight before deciding to do as the Grovyle and extinguish the flame I was still displaying to her.

"So then it's settled." I speak, before turning around and realizing that more 'mons, probably the entirety of what Melissa had described as my prison's inmates, have appeared all around. Not just peeking around the corners of buildings, but standing just off to the sides and in the shadows as to not get hit directly by the burning sun slowly starting to feel a bit too hot, even for my taste.

I can see a Nidorina and Farfetch'd standing at the corner of a building on the left, while the Zigzagoon I had noticed earlier is still hiding around the corner of the rundown shed to my right, but doesn't retreat as I make eye contact with him for a split second.

The Ivysaur I had already managed to befriend, but still don't know the name of is standing off a bit to the side, probably after having retreated from my display of a flame just like any rational Grass Type should at its sight.

And the rest of my team stands together in the middle of the plaza, looking at me with the longing eyes of wanting to know how my plan is going to conclude.

"I'm sure I can find a way to get all of us out of here." I begin. "But I'll..."

"MELISSA!" Treek blares unexpectedly with both anger, fear and desperate hope, forcing me to interrupt my statement and quickly turn to where I still assume the one he had named to stand.

I notice a green blur of motion and before I can act rationally my instinct kicks in to quickly grow the flames on my back to their largest, just before the mass of a fully grown and healthy Grovyle makes contact with them.


	81. Locked Up

I notice nothing but a blur, though my reflexes are quick to act. And pushing myself away from the well I was still standing in front of, even dislodging one of its brick and leaving it to fall into its depth as confirmed by the ~thonk~ audible a few moments later, the blur of green changes its hue into bright red and yellow as it passes by me.

"MELISSA!" Treek shouts again, even louder than before, taking no precautions while starting his own dash towards the blur and accidentally brushing against the flames still blazing on my back, while I have yet to get back up or even fully realize what had even just happened.

My eyes widen and control is fully returned to me. The flames on by back have died down, and I watch in shock at what has transpired in less than a second of time.

"WATER!" Treek shouts desperately. "I NEED WATER!"

From the corner of my eyes I can see the Nidorina and Farfetch'd running of, the duck even leaving behind a stick it had been holding thus far.

Treek tries to extinguish the flames while the realization of what I just did settles in, leaving me unable to get up and instead continue to lie and watch. He continuously has to pull back his paws, as the flames have no mercy and jump at the chance of licking the fresh meat they think is being offered to them.

Unlike other Grass Types, Treek has managed to build up an above average resistance to fire. While still being very much unpleasant to him, he does manage to endure and repair to the damage that it can do to him better.

'But it wasn't him who my flames sought to engulf. Neither was it a little ember, such as those he had built a resistance against.' I begin to understand what is unraveling before my eyes, before my mind turns back into a blank canvas, suppressing whatever realization had came next.

Apart of me knows I should help. I realize that I should do everything in my power to undo the error. I understand that this is something the two Cyndaquils standing off to the side are going to have nightmares about, maybe even preventing them from looking at me the way they used to until now.

But the shock and sight of a charred Grovyle, with some parts of her body still standing in flames continues to paralyze me, robbing me of any chance that I otherwise might have had of contributing to a chance of saving her, the probability of which I wouldn't dare to evaluate.

The Treecko manages to extinguish the last of the flames before not just one, but two buckets of water arrive.

The Nidorina is carrying one in her paws, and the Ivysaur who I had already forgotten about after remaining outside my immediate field of view is balancing one on his back. They have holes and aren't even filled to the top, leaking water quickly, but still managing to hold enough to make one think there might be a chance when not looking at the charred mass they are headed for.

Still lying where I had landed after dodging and instinctively countering, I swallow and barely keep myself from suffocating when I realize that I had stopped breathing after hitting the ground.

I hadn't just been completely caught by surprise, but what I did had completely immobilized me. Only now that I start to breathe again, I slowly find the will and strength to do more than just lie motionlessly on the ground.

'But what should I do now?' I wonder before finding my thought cut short by a faint whisper coming from the body Treek is leaning over, and managing to silence the commotion all around.

It is a weak voice, almost but a whisper, speaking in chunks and getting softer and quieter with every word it manages to utter. The fact that it still managed to cut though the noise and commotion of the various 'mons running around, as well as the two rusted and half-full buckets of water being emptied surprises me, though my mind is too distracted to wonder about it for too long.

Against the might of the water, my last remaining embers have thankfully decided to relinquish their prey, and in the unexplainable moment of silence, brought forth by the Grovyle's weakly voice, she begins speaking words that no one present would ever forget.

"This..." She begins already sounding weaker at the end of the word than at the start of it, while I notice one of her eyes staring at the Treecko still in the process of doing everything in his power to help her, from using his elemental core to command the grass around into forming a makeshift scab while being in the process of ordering more water when realizing the familiar voice himself.

"Is your... fault... Treek." She ends the sentence and closes the eye she had managed to open, probably not even knowing about the state of her other, being nothing but an open, untreated, and gruesome looking flesh wound.

I swallow again and turn away as the idea of me being responsible tries to settle in. Not because of disrespect, not even because of disgust. Maybe because of shame, but probably because of some reason that not even I will ever dare to understand.

I know that I am in control over myself, and that there is no ember for me to blame for my response. But for the very first time, I still have no idea what I am doing as I walk towards the bag that Treek had dropped when he dashed to aid his sister.

Voices continue to shout command behind me, but none of what they say manages to reach my mind.

The bad had scurried over the ground and the lid had opened, leaving some of the supplies to be scattered over the ground, alongside something that grabs my attention without me even realizing that it did so.

"MELISSA!" Treek shouts again, but still with widened eyes and a shocked expression on my own face, while I pick up the peculiar object that I wouldn't have had any problems identifying as my exploration emblem under different circumstances. - Broken by the forces that had robbed me of my home and brought me to this point; twisted and damaged even further by the soul now in the process leaving its worldly vessel behind me.

To most it appears broken beyond repair, though I know that it isn't. Most of what is visible to the naked eye is just meant for decoration or ease of use.

I find myself taking a look at it and notice that one of its wings is gone. Though it shouldn't matter, as the wings are nothing but the interface and handle for whoever would want to use it.

I find myself turning it on its back where I can see the energy core. It is inactive, something that it is supposed to be after not being used for as long as it was dormant for. Though I notice a rupture on its side, revealing a control crystal that thankfully appears to be not have taken any damage.

It is never going to look anything close to what it once looked like, and with one of the wings required for harmonizing its transport beam, it is missing the stability of transporting itself once I would activate it one last time to escape from this place.

'Maybe that's a good thing.' I wonder for a moment, fading out the desperate shouting of Treek trying to get another word out of his sister. 'I can leave instructions behind for the next unlucky traveler that happens to get trapped here.'

I look up at the sky to see the sun still standing directly above, with a sky as clear as ever, not accounting for a few clouds off in the distance, most definitely beyond the border separating Old Zissorine from the dungeon all around.

'I killed her.'

Normally I would start to question the reason why the sun could still be shining straight down, but there are much more important things that require my attention. 'I need to get these 'mons out of here.'

Starting to move again, I walk past the kids and along the path used by the Ivysaur when leading me here. Tolan looks at me for a moment with the same expression that I am wearing myself, making me wonder for how long it will remain in not just his, but my face as well.

'I ~am~ the terrorist she saw me as.'

I walk past him and head into the short alley, if one could even call it that, as it is nothing but two buildings standing next to each other, with roofs big enough to cover the ground with a nice shadow, shielding anyone standing below from the sun even feeling too hot for my liking.

Looking up, I notice that it isn't actually the roofs that are casting the shadow, but various planks that have been put to rest on their roofs in such a way as to intentionally cast the shadows I now find myself walking through.

'I can't just ignore it. So why aren't I listening to myself!?'

Small lines of sunlight run over the ground wherever the planks border against each other, and with shouts still echoing from behind me, I find myself at the end of the alley and where here the Grovyle had originally pinned me to the ground.

'Let's see how hard it will be to fix this little gadget.' I wonder to myself, now being quite glad that Melissa had found it before we set off, as it would otherwise still be configured attempt transporting its user all the way to Corasona. A trip it would not have enough power for, even if the crystals were still fully charged, or if there was still a way to charge them at all.

'I am such a monster for leaving Treek behind. And it doesn't matter if there was nothing I could have done to help. – This won't just go away!'

'Heh.' I mentally laugh to myself. 'If one had tried to activate it while still being set to Corasona, they would have probably ended up underground or in some mountain, forever to be phased with rock and left to die in an instant. - Could have been a nice trap at the right time, but seems like this little guy is destined to serve ~me~ one last time.'

Turning it in my paw, I take another look at the rupture in its hull. It doesn't appear to actually reach all the way to the energy core, only affecting the housing for the control crystal which does appear to be intact, assuming I'm not missing a scratch possibly on its far side.

'I can't ignore myself forever. So I better start listening to myself, Murderer! – Yes: Not a sounding that great when I say it as it is...'

Thinking for a moment about how to proceed with the repairs, I reach the conclusion that before taking any drastic measures, such as breaking open the entire casing, possibly worsening the rupture to have it crack open the power core itself, I should test what kind of inputs it might still be responding to.

'Not just that. I insulted her, then killed her when she submitted herself. – Because I can't know if her last act was meant as an attack; that's just guessing!'

I carefully press the bent silver nugget, which I had the honor to receive on behalf of Team Cerinity a long time ago, located in the middle. I might not have been there for every rescue and exploration mission that the Team went on, but being the leader it was my duty to be presented with this sign of wisdom, honor, truth of spirit and simply being a hero to those in need.

'I never deserved that emblem. Not with what it's meant to stand for. Not with who I continue proving to be. I've never been the courageous one. I was just favored because Asselia knew who I am.'

Realizing that pressing the nugget doesn't do anything at all, I notice that I wasn't able to hear the familiar clicking sound that is usually associated with activating the power core, nor does the core itself appear to have re-activated.

'The clicking can be heard when an internal switch re-enables the energy conversion process.' I remind myself of how the inner workings of emblems are laid out. 'It's possible that the internal switch is fused. - I guess I'll still have to take it apart entirely.'

'I only got it after Asselia found out who I am and correctly thought that it might prove helpful in situations where such a symbol of authority would prove useful.'

"Cyder..." A familiar voice next to my head weeps and I immediately recognize it as Treek's.

I turn my head to see his tear-blurred face, his normally yellow eyes now underlined with red rings, signaling that there are no more tears where those that have already been shed came from.

His eyes are empty now, just as my expression remains while he finally manages to produce another sound after repeatedly opening and closing his mouth without succeeding in producing a should.

"She's dead." He snorts.

'I killed her.' I realize a voice inside my head. I recognize it as my own, and finally start to catch up with everything it had been trying to tell me up to this point.

"You..." The Treecko interrupts himself with an uncontrollable high-pitched yelp, almost sounding like a hic-cup. "Killed her..."

'I killed her. – I'm a murderer.' I realize the facts the voice in my head had been trying to teach me.

Treek turns away, probably to head back to the plaza and to the other 'mons, maybe to mourn his loss, maybe to plot his revenge against me. - Because how would I deserve anything better.

'I'm a murderer.' I keep on repeating to myself, while my eyes fall on the simulation of the wide, open forest surrounding the town. The clouds that I had noticed earlier are still exactly where they've been the last time I checked, making me wonder if what lies beyond the border of darkness is nothing but a static image.

'I'm a murderer, and a convict. - An outcast of, and danger to society.' The thoughts keep on circling, while some part of me wonders if it might be better for me to simply suppress them again.

The sky is a beautiful blue, simulated or not. And the sun is shining just as bright as ever, smiling at the world and laughing now that I finally know of my own worthlessness, just like it always did. An immoral waste of a 'mon am, without will of bettering himself.

'The world knows.' I conclude. 'And it always knew. - And I thank you for reminding me of who I really am.'

Looking back down and glimpsing at the emblem of miss-representation still lying in the palm of my paw, before looking back at the image of a static, motionless forest, I know what I have to do. - What the only course of action for me to redeem myself in the eyes of all that is sentient is. And what would truly be good for all.

'There is only one thing to do with a murderer, a ... terrorist.' I collect my thoughts. 'You trap then, lock them away, never bother them again, see them again. – And I'll be my own judge today.'

"Thank you!" I shout at the sun in the sky while tightly holding on to the emblem, ignoring another cracking sound that doing so is producing.

I stretch my arm, aim and throw it as hard as I can, closing my own case and committing to the sentence I decided for myself.

It is a beautiful throw, lasting for what feels like ages and arcing wonderfully. And I stare in awe while realizing that my tight grip had fully ruptured the energy core, leaving the emblem to start glowing brightly as it soars through the sky like a shooting star.

But then it ends, when the device reaches the barrier and simply vanishes. And while I know that it isn't truly gone but simply on the other side, never to be seen again and most definitely broken beyond repair at this point, for the first time I believe to have done something right.

I can be proud of myself. I can be proud of what I did, and truly am, as for the first time I get the feeling of honor for which the emblem was allegedly given to me.

I still watch the point high up on the barrier where I last saw the shooting star. – The key to what is going to live up to its description of being a prison.

It almost appears as though it left behind waves, a sort of ripple in the illusion of a static forest all round. But after a few moments of watching, the sight begins to bore me. Usually I would have probably wondered what was causing the ripples, but why should I? I'm finally home, with all of eternity to explore and understand every centimeter of it.

Though standing up and following after Treek, something happens that I can't ignore. Since our arrival, nothing had changed around us. The trees remained the same, and looking back I can't even be sure if the grass at the town square was moving before Melissa started controlling it.

But now something is changing, as I suddenly find myself standing in darkness.

With a full moon up above and assuming that is simply how the day-night cycle works in this pocket of space far from reality, I arrive back by the others.

Melissa's body is covered with a white piece of cloth. It is ripped in a few places, still revealing some of the gory details that it is trying to hide. Yet with the help of much darker moonlight now being the only thing illuminating those present, it is something different that distracts me more.

"Did you do that?" The Ivysaur asks me as I begin wondering what it is that he is referring to.

Even Treek is staring at me, and while still wearing empty eyes of grief underlined with rings upon rings of dried up tears, I follow the eyes of the Nidorina staring up at the sky.


	82. Shattered Walls

"I know what I did." I sigh, absentmindedly taking another look at the corpse. A small gust of wind blows through the town and white cloth flutters excitedly, as if trying to wave at me.

"Treek already told me, my punishment is staying here forever." I respond again, even though I had already given an answer.

"I can feel the wind!" The Farfetch'd quacks happily just as I finish my sentence, obviously not having listened to me and experiencing some kind of mental breakdown after witnessing the things I did.

"I can see the stars." He continues, only to be interrupted by the Nidorina exclaiming her own statements of excitement. "I think can hear a Hoothoot!"

She is correct and even I had been able to hear the cry of such a creature, yet seeing how I will have all eternity to understand their excitement, assuming neither of them has gone crazy, I decide to simply ignore them for now.

"Treek." I begin, grabbing his attention and dismissing the other 'mons cheering for some reason. "I'm sorry for what I did, and I don't expect you to ever forgive me. – Not any part of you to."

I take a short pause while the Grass Type, who had previously been staring at the moon turns to face me. While he doesn't completely look like the same Treek I saw just a moment ago, almost looking as though the hint of a small smile is present on his face, I dismiss it as an illusion brought forth by the weak moon light and our eyes still being adjusted to the full strength of the sun.

"I haven't thought of how I should tell you this, but..." I begin, only now realizing that by destroying our only chance of escape, I inadvertently robbed the other 'mons, including Treek, Nina and the kids of their freedom as well.

"But I destroyed the emblem, which was the only way we could have ever escaped."

Noticing that the Nidorina is still staring at the sky, I decide to look up and see a could passing in front of the moon.

'Wait what!?' I suddenly realize, only now noticing the wind and realizing that the simulated sky had yet to feature moving clouds.

"I don't think we need it anymore..." Nina answers me while I realize that the ripples I had witnessed after the emblem went through the curtain to head into the dungeon probably had something to do with this.

The Farfetch'd has already disappeared. As far as I can assume, already on her way home; her real home. And the last thing I can see of the Nidorina is her dropping down to all fours and dashing past me, probably on her way to follow the Farfetch'd.

The Zigzagoon is nowhere to be seen, and I can only assume that he too is already on his way, only leaving the Ivysaur still standing and staring at me, only to do nothing but smile at me gratefully as our eyes meet, with him breaking the contact a moment later to dash after the others himself.

'The prison.' I hits me, as I realize that I had just inadvertently torn down its walls.

Apart of me is happy, because their lives will go one in freedom, but it doesn't take a quick glance at the waving blanket covering Melissa to remind me that this is everything but good.

"Dad." Cari grabs my attention just as I'm about to attempt speaking with Treek again.

But while I lend her my ear, the other portion of my offspring continues speaking, as Tolan finishes his sister's sentence.

"What's done... is done?"

He tried not to make it sound like a question, but that is still how I understand it as. A question that has a very specific answer.

"No." I speak, clenching my eyes together and dropping on all fours, only to fail catching my fall and end up uncomfortably bonking my head on blunt rock lying on the still warm ground.

" I do forgive you." Treek finally speaks after some silence passes, using quite a shaky voice, but making his intention more than clear.

"And I know that Melissa would have forgiven you, too." Treek continues before inserting a quick laugh, that I know can be nothing but faked, but still sounds quite real to me. "As a matter of fact, she'd be the one lying there, moaning at you and trying to apologize for attacking, hurting and not believing you in the first place."

'The dead can no longer prove you different.' I negate Treek's argument, knowing that he is lying and remembering the Grovyle's last words. Though I decide not to speak up and instead take another look at the cloth, as if hoping that it may have somehow disappeared and all was nothing but a bad dream.

"Do you remember what you told us the morning after the train crash?" Tolan asks.

'I do remember what I said...' I answer him mentally, this time wanting to speak the words, but somehow not finding the strength to overcome the burden that is lying not more than a meter away from me.

"You took responsibility for that Zangoose's death." Treek explains, while I realize the point he is trying to get across, probably planning to do the same as I did and somehow take the responsibility of Melissa's death off of my paws.

"I won't be trying to take responsibility for anyone's actions." Treek surprises me, while he quickly continues. "But I will tell you this: no one here today acted out of hatred. No one did anything out of greed or for nothing but their only gain. You wanted nothing but save everyone that needed rescuing, just like you always want to. And you did manage to, for all but one."

I interrupt Treek with a barely understandable ~I'm sorry~, with loud sobs uttering the two words feeling way too simple multiple times in an attempt to enforce their meaning, while I still can't understand how the Grass Type can be standing next to his sister and talking as if her death didn't matter to him.

"You are a good 'mon. And that is why I'll always support you." Treek explains after I quite down again, and after letting some more time pass. "There might be other things making you special, but they don't matter to me. To me you are special, because you are still pure. Because you despite having your priorities, you still want good things happening to everyone."

"I'm not saying what happened here is a tragedy, because it is." The Grass Type explains, once again sounding more appropriate for his situation. "But back when Lydia died, it took you forever to move on."

I remember how I felt, how it was like. But for some reason the memory, as painful as it is, fails to affect me this time. Maybe because there would be no way of feeling more sorrow, or maybe because it has finally been long enough for me to look past the barrier of emotions still linked to my past.

I can hear the Hoothoot cry into the night again, his voice sounding more distant that it did the last time as the creature is probably on the lookout for some food, or another of its kind to mate with.

"But while I will need some time, you should not forget that she and I barely spent any time growing up together. It hurts admitting it, but I didn't know her half as well as you knew Lydia. And most importantly, I can guaranty you that Melissa did not blame you, but me."

'He's right.' I find myself understanding Treek, Melissa's words once again passing through my head. 'It's not something anyone hearing them will ever forget.'

"But you need to open your eyes too, Cyder." Treek states, causing me to do so and recognize Nina facing me with my Hat in her mouth.

The feather has broken off and I wonder if it already did so during my fight with the Scyther. But the one thing I do know, is that Nina and Treek, as well as the kids want me to put it on.

"I hope you understand the situation." Treek states while I continue to stare at the broken feather. "Because the sooner you get away from here, the better."

"Why?" I wonder, managing to weakly speak the word.

"You saw that Nidorina, Farfetch'd and Ivysaur." Treek explains. "They know who, and where you are. Now that the dungeon is out of the way, sooner or later someone will come back here to check up on you. So you need to catch up with them and convince them to stay quiet, or never return to Laizisso."

'Treek's right.' I realize, knowing that no matter how much I think I would deserve it, I could never let myself willingly get captured.

"And you can't give up now." Treek continues. "From what I understand you just managed to destroy a Mystery Dungeon. Nobody's ever managed to do that, and believe me: last time they became a problem, 'mons tried. And they tried a lot!"

Realizing that I had been staring at Nina holding my hat for the past minute, I finally find the strength to push myself from the ground. And while trying not to take another look at the white cloth, I turn to face the Treecko that had managed to remind me of what my purpose really is.

I stare him deep into his eyes, needing to know for certain that he isn't holding any grudge against me, or anyone else for that matter. Though unlike his speech and voice he spoke to me with, I can see that he is anything but ready to forget all that went down.

Reaching for my hat and finally taking it back into my paws, I blankly stare at where the decorative feather used to be, but no longer is, turning it slowly around its rim.

"I understand." I say slowly after realizing that everyone had been expecting me to say something. "I understand that we need to leave, and I understand why."

Looking up and confirming that the Grass Type is still looking back at me, I watch his head turn slightly after mindlessly staring past me.

"But I don't think you are ready to leave." I speak calmly, trying to swallow the guilt still poisoning my spirit and darkening my heart once again. "Nobody will be back for quite a while. And once we leave, we can never come back."

Slowly and cautiously peeking to the right of the Treecko and seeing the cloth dancing in the moonlight with the wind, I wish I knew how to express myself.

"I..." I try to begin, but stop to rethink what I should say. "If you... If there is anything you need, I will get it for you."

It isn't exactly what I meant to say, but still the closest to what I meant to. And now fully turned towards the white blanket, watching as a strong gust uncovers a leg, I quickly avert my eyes out of shame.

Treek on the other hand doesn't seem to mind, as he continues to stare at the scene.

I notice Tolan awkwardly looking at me, while his sister is huddled up against the black haired fox still standing next to her. Yet after a while of us staring each other down, he gives up and turns away just as Treek responds to me question.

"I want you to head after the others without me. I know all three of them are residents of Laizisso, so make your way there." He weakly states, obviously having troubles to form the words, maybe because they contradict some of his deepest believes, or maybe because in reality he doesn't know what he wants at all.

I don't know how to get back to Laizisso from some off-the-charts ghost town I've never heard about before ending up in it, the fact of me calling it that even feeling a bit too precise for my taste. But the moment I granted Treek a request of any kind, I knew that whatever it would entail, I could not answer with anything but ~yes~.

"Come on, kids." I say carefully, not speaking too loud as to not distract the Treecko standing motionlessly, before beginning to collect the bag's contents that are still spilled over the ground.

Nina is first to respond, reminding Cari of reality in the process of moving before the young Cyndaquil walks up to her brother getting up to his feet as well.

Me being the last to still be standing in the center of the plaza, I turn back one last time after collecting all that I could find, to see Treek having walked up to the cloth and staring at it. Not being able to help myself, but to remain for another few moments, he doesn't turn to me again, neither addressing me and not moving a muscle at all, nor moving one himself before I finally decide to take the bag and leave him to his wish.

Heading after the kids, I realize that the Grass Type only told me what he knew I needed to her. I trust him and believe that he isn't holding me responsible for Melissa's death. And remembering the incident before quickly dismissing the memory, not wanting to review it just yet, I know that it wasn't how I wanted it to end.

Nina is leading the group and has already went past the shadow cast by the planks laid across the roof tops, nearing the end of the small alley.

'I wonder just what kind of place this was.' I find myself thinking, slowly following behind the group and counting the lines of moonlight falling through the gaps between the wooden boards. 'All of those mons had to have been here for months, living under the constant heat of the sun burning from the sky.'

I shake my head, thinking of all the implausibilities that would be associated with such a thing happening. 'Where would all the heat go, and why was the grass still green? Was there rain from time to time, and what caused the dungeon to treat the down differently in the first place? – Or did it all just happen by random chance.'

I can hear the Hoothoot crying from behind me one last time before crossing the threshold of the last board's shadow, the houses it lies on still shrouding the Treecko about to give his relative her last honor.

Some time passes of me trotting behind the small group of three before a cloud moves in front of the moon, finally making me decide to catch up with them and do the necessary by protecting them from the much less dangerous and much rarer sight of a feral. 'At least those I can deter with a few precisely aimed fireballs, even without harming them in the process.' Yet the thing that bothers me most, I come to conclude as I narrowly avoid falling over a log and realizing that we are heading the same path that we came through the Dungeon while it was still there, is that Treek is missing.

"Do you know where you're going, Nina?" I ask the fox after catching up again.

Responding immediately, she tells me that she is following the scent of the Ivysaur's flower, mentioning that we had apparently seen him when arriving in Laizisso the day before, before I stop listening to her explanation and realize just how much happened since then.

'It's so strange to travel when missing a friend and companion as trusty and helpful as Treek.' I wonder, occasionally looking into the forest bordering the path. At times, the flora has managed to completely engulf the road, forming a roof and shielding the ground from the moon occasionally blinded by a cloud.

It makes me appreciate how lively nature and trees can be, especially when compared to the unnatural and simulated static scenery surrounding Old Zissorine.

I can hear leaves rustle next to the path and quickly turn towards the sound, a part of me instantly being reminded of the Scyther I had the luck of encountering today. Yet while my reflexes already begin to charge my core, even if only a little bit, I quickly realize that it is nothing but a Murkrow sitting on a branch and staring at me with an angry expression.

"CRA!" It shouts at us, making Tolan and Cari turn their heads while Nina remains focused on the Ivysaur's scent. I don't know what the creature is trying to tell us, but not a moment later it takes off, flying down the road the way we are heading ourselves, before vanishing in the distance.

"Dad." Tolan asks cautiously, causing me to turn back towards him. "I..." He continues, but doesn't finish the sentence before turning back to face the road.

"What's the matter, son?" I try to encourage him, managing to sound strong enough to not appear weak before him. "You can tell me."

Not turning to face me, a few moments of silence pass before he speaks up. "After what happened to the Zangoose, you managed to bring us back to spirits."

He pauses for another moment and while a cloud that had been blocking the moon for a while now moves aside to lighten the ground just a tiny bit more, he continues.

"I just wanted to return the favor. Only thing is I don't know how to say it..."

A smile manages to attach itself to my face, and after having walked on two feet since we started heading away from Old Zissorine, I drop down to all fours and walk up to the young Cyndaquil.

"It's late, and seeing how Cari always gets to ride on Nina, it's only fair if I'll carry you for a change."

I quickly glance and Cari, who seems to understand and doesn't appear to mind, using and sharing the smile I was gifted, I don't know if Tolan realizes that he is the reason I can share it at all. But accepting both the smile, as well as the offer of riding his father, he gives me a nod and I stop walking for a moment to let him climb on my back and get comfortable on top the bag of supplies, before I sprint to catch up with the Zorua not having paused and remaining focused on following the Grass Type's scent.


	83. Missed Detail

Some time has passed of me simply following Nina while she follows the Ivysaur, who's path will hopefully lead us to catch up with the others as well.

I look up from the road tinted in blue and at place somewhat wet, as if it had recently encountered a mild mild autumn shower, when something bright in the corner of my eyes grabs my attention. Yet with nothing being visible when I look, as well as no one else appearing to have noticed anything, I return to pondering my thoughts after quickly glancing at Cari walking between me and her black haired friend.

Even though I should be, I'm not too worried about failing to catching up with them before they reach Laizisso to most likely start announcing what they had witnessed to all. Maybe it's the presence of Tolan and Cari, the former of which I believe has fallen asleep to my body's rhythmic swaying back and forth.

'The day sure has been a long one.' I find myself thinking as I absentmindedly begin to stare at a particularly bright star in the night sky.

The Air is clean, calm, and fairly cold. At least it feels cold in contrast to the heat I was exposed to during our stay in Old Zissorine.

I notice Tolan shiver, ripping me out of my thoughts and look away from the star that had managed to enticed me to the point of forgetting for how long I had already been looking at it.

Though before I can wonder if Tolan might still be awake and is just as cold as the air around, I notice that Nina has stopped to stare down the road just about to take a sharp turn left.

"What are we stopping for?" I ask, still on my way to arrive at the Zorua's side, while I feel a sudden jolt from someone pinching my hair, probably resulting from me just having awoken Tolan.

"See for yourself." She responds while turning to face the side of the road I step off the road as I arrive next to her. I spot some sort of lump lying in the shrubbery, almost going completely unnoticed if it wasn't for a stench strong enough to even alert a nose as untrained as mine.

As my eyes adjust for the dim moonlight and a spare cloud decides to move in front of the moon just as I begin inspecting what is lying on front of me, Tolan steps off of my bag after almost getting tangled up in one of our bag's straps.

It takes a moment, and a strong wind pushes aside the cloud to reveal the smell's origin being the body of a dead of a Zigzagoon.

Some of the trees around him feature black markings on their bark, and as I hastily look to make sure that whatever did this isn't still around, I am relieved to see that the four of us are still alone. Though as I take another look at the road, I notice more of the black spots reaching not just up to it, but all the way across before ending just short of the road's opposite edge.

Stepping closer towards the corpse to take a closer look at the black markings, Cari looks away while Tolan still hasn't decided how to respond.

"The body's still warm." Nina pronounces while I summon a flame and realize that contrary to my initial assumption of thinking that a Fire Type, despite how unlikely and rare such an encounter would be in this corner of the world, I am quite certain that this is not the case anymore.

"A dark type did this." I explain, cutting my sentence short as a twig snapping causes me to spin around filled with anxiety.

"Sorry." Nina responds while lifting her foot to reveal the twig that I had just heard snapping.

"If it was a feral, it's probably still around." Nina begins to argue as our eyes meet. "We probably cared if off, though if we don't keep moving, it won't be long before it'll come back to challenge us for its dinner."

Looking at the corpse and only now noticing the wound that had caused the creature's body to fail, causing a death from loss of blood as its red juice of live if still dropping from the tips of its stuck together strands of hair, I feel a weak gust of wind causing my flame to flicker excitedly before returning to its former calmness.

"This isn't the doing of a feral." I begin quite confident in my conclusion. "And while I didn't know his name, this Zigzagoon was no feral either." I continue before extinguishing my flame as a safety precaution.

"We need to get back and meet up with Treek as soon as possible." I exclaim, feeling the fear of what may have transpired overtaking me.

"What?" Nina tries to argue, obviously not understanding my sudden change of opinion. "Why? - He said we would meet up in Laizisso."

Lying myself on the ground as a sign for Tolan get back on my back, this time not for his enjoyment, but for the functionality of us being much faster when there are less feet to stumble across the ground, I turn to face the confused Zorua standing next to Cari.

"Time is of the essence, and you'll have to carry Cari. Because we need to get back now!" I state, causing Tolan to turn away from the Zigzagoon and stop deciding how to react before proceed to climb my back.

"Good." I state while Nina still seems unwilling to cooperate. "You need to trust me. - We need to get back to Old Zissorine as fast as possible, because there's something I forgot. - Something that changes everything."

"What do you mean?" Nina asks while I find no time to answer her question before quickly turning and dashing towards the road without giving Tolan a warning or making sure that he had safely secured himself, thus causing him to fall off and on his face, while fortunately without taking the bag with him, or any injuries from the accident, though forcing me to stop and apologize to him.

"Now slow down, Cyder." Nina exclaims, speaking way too loud for my taste while I anxiously take a look down the road we just came.

Waiting for Tolan to get back up, this time giving him enough time to secure himself, I decide to try and get Nina to understand connection I had just made.

"How much time do you think has passed since we entered the Mystery Dungeon?"

"I don't know." She responds before pausing for a moment to think. "The better part of a day?"

"No." I correct her. "Whatever happened to Old Zissorine, it most definitely was not part of the Dungeon, because otherwise it would have been filled with Ferals instead of sentient 'mons."

"And if you remember what Melissa..." I pause for a moment after realizing that I just pronounced her name a bit too carelessly for my own taste, though quickly decide to carry on.

"She said that she had been trapped there for at least a couple of months."

"Are you saying..." Nina begins, before I interrupt her yet again and finish explaining despite Tolan already having secured himself.

"Yes." I speak up, quieting down for another moment before finishing up in a lowered voice while taking no precaution to hide my own anxiety. "How far do you think word of a Quilava fitting my description suddenly appear here, only to disappear with one of the Village's residents the day after, could have travelled in that amount of time."

Taking another short pause during which Nina decides to remain quiet, the only thing coming from her and reaching my ears being the sound of air silently being swallowed.

"Even if it was a feral Dark Type who did this, where no single one could manage to conjure this many elemental attacks as there are misses around here, the chance of meeting one around this parts is already too slim to begin with, with most of them having relocated to the south."

Collecting my toughts as I feel as if they are swaying away from my original point, I continue. "I saw this Zigzagoon in old Zissorine. He was one of the mons trapped there, and I can only think of one reason for this many Dark Types being around as there had to have been for him to end up like this."

"CRA!" The shouting of a Murkrow interrupts be from behind. With its wings folded, it stands only a few meters down the street, as if waiting for us to finally leave, looking around me and confirming that what would probably be its meal was still up for grabs.

I turn to Nina and tell her that we need to get back quick, trying to ignore the taste of disgust from leaving behind the body of a once sentient creature to be shredded into pieces and devoured by the grimmer side of how nature's food chain works.

She gives me a nod while I notice that Cari had already taken the chance to mount the fox. And with Tolan alongside our bag of supplies safely secured on my back, it is time for me to lead the party back towards Old Zissorine, with my thoughts and hopes set on arriving there before what might already be hiding and waiting for us around the next corner.

'I don't care if there's a chance of Laizisso being just as we left it this morning, or whenever that was for the rest of the world.' I try to reinforce my decision. 'They must have marched into Treek's lovely, peaceful childhood town months ago, before quickly discovering the Mystery Dungeon and probably assuming that it was some kind of Barrier set up by me.'

Shaking my head and trying to remain focused on the road with the knowledge of it not mattering, while narrowly avoiding a hole concealed well enough to count as a trap for getting a foot stuck in, I realize the full story behind the Zigzagoon's death.

'His species evolved to aid him in fleeing instead of fighting. So when he was confronted by the Military patrolling the area and decided to act on that instinct, he became an example to the other villagers he was travelling with, who are being interrogated and explaining everything they know about me as I realize this.'

The thought of it managing to make me run even faster, I take a look behind me to confirm that Nina is still being directly behind me and that the road is still filled with nothing but the shadows of the night.

It takes a while until we reach Old Zissorine, and despite us not having travelled for more than half an hour before encountering the Zigzagoon, and it probably having taken less than ten minutes to get back, every second seemed to stretch just as my muscles do from the constant stress I had been putting them under since waking up after my last night's sleep. What I can only assume to be sleep deprivation starts setting in, and with my joints starting to hurt more and more with every passing step, we manage to arrive safely with the road behind still appearing just as empty as ever.

No lights can be seen anywhere within, or anywhere around the ghost town. Though not even slowing down until I stand right in the middle of the small little Plaza I know all too well, still surrounded by the same old, rundown houses, I can neither spot Treek, the white blanket covering my wrong doing, nor any hint to his current location what-so-ever.

"Treek!" I take the risk and shout out to him, putting all of my hope into assuming that he would hear me.

But with no answer to my shout except a feral Noctowl crying for a mate somewhere inside the woods, I am left with no choice other than to try and get Treek's attention once again as Nina carrying a sleepy Cari arrives at my side.

"TREEK!" I shout again, probably startling and awaking every peacefully sleeping critter that I hadn't already woken up.

Yet unlike my desperation growing, the response stays the same with the rustling of leaves remaining the only answer fate is deeming me worthy of.

"I don't think he's here." Nina states, concern growing in her voice as well.

"There's only one road leading here." I respond to her, mostly trying to convince myself. "And we would have noticed if we passed him, so he must still be here."

"TREEEEEK!" I shout again, allowing those with sharp ears to hear me all the way from Laizisso.

"Cyder." Nina tries to argue and manages to make me stop. "He's not here, and neither can we any longer."

Pointing me to look behind us, I can see lights shining through the trees. They are very far away, probably further away than they must have already been when they killed the Zigzagoon. But there is no doubt on my mind that it is soldiers carrying torches, equipped with weapons and ready to do anything to get their paws on me, as the familiar feeling of being hunted for all I'm worth starts settling back in.

It hurts me to admit it, but Nina is correct and we do need to get a move on before it would be too late.

"Our only chance is to hide in the woods." Nina argues while ostentatiously walking past me and towards the back of town bordering against woods deep enough for there to be legends of lost cubs, as well as hidden legendries.

Last time I took a look at an up-to-date map of this part of the world, the forest known as Gloom Woods and that Laizisso is located on the edge of, was large enough to be considered an entire region.

Reaching all the way up to the coast line located hundreds of kilometers further north-east, it still doesn't mean anything because there's no way of us traversing it safely, or even getting far enough to escape detection without Treek clearing a path and covering our tracks behind us.

"I'm sure Treek is OK." She continues. "You know just as well as I do that we managed to get here before the military. And while I can't tell you where exactly Treek is and don't sense him anywhere nearby, what I do sense is our pursuers catching up."

Weighing the consequences of attempting another shout against doing what I'd eventually have to do in any case by following Nina into the thicket, hopefully not to get lost or die of hunger when our supplies would run out, I come to realize that I am way too tired to waste my strength on attempting another shout that would probably go just as unanswered as all my previous ones.

Taking another look at the lights creeping closer ever second, I feel myself overcome with a sudden rush of anger.

"Why can't they just leave me alone!?" I shout, knowing the answer full well, but still feeling as if me shouting at the problem would somehow help the situation, or even solve the problem altogether.

"Can't they see that I'm exhausted? Can't they see that I need rest, too?"

"Please Cyder." Nina repeats.

"No!" I direct my anger at her, realizing what it is that is still holding me back. - That being, that her plan wouldn't work. "I can't escape without Treek. - Without him to cover our tracks, my approach to getting through a jungle such as the one behind us is way too crude to. I wouldn't make it far enough, and most notably not at all without leaving a trail obvious enough for anyone to spot."

Nina remains quite for a moment, realizing that I am correct before responding. "I guess that's correct, but you can't possibly expect you and me to defeat an entire army, even if the kids would help."

"No." I respond, knowing that it is time for me to do something I would have probably decided against if the exhaustion wasn't clouding my mind as much as it is.

"You're agile and they won't be searching for you in particular." I begin before already being interrupted by the young fox.

"I hope you're not suggesting what I think you're planning to."

Ignoring her interrupting, I continue explaining. "I have a plan on what to do, but I need all the time I can get, and I need to be alone, knowing that you and the kids are going to be OK no matter what happens."

Looking at Tolan and Cari, realizing that it might be the last time I get to see them while trying not to let them realize it, I turn to stare at Nina still not appearing comfortable with the idea of leaving me behind at all, even to the point of simply refusing me. It makes me wonder if she ever remembers her own words of wisdom, stating just how valuable our time left was become.

"Take the bag of supplies and go hide with the kids." I explain. "Don't tell me where it is you're hiding, and don't come out until you absolutely have to. And most of all: don't argue with me on this, because otherwise you'll leave me no other choice but to force you to do this."

Nina continues to remain still while I stare at her, needing nothing more than a simple nod of the head for me to proceed with my plan.

I take another look at the lights, already having passed the spot we saw the dead Zigzagoon lying at.

"OK." Nina speaks softly after the moment of silence passes. "I will go hide with the kids, but I'll disguise myself and come back to check on you."

Not fully satisfied, but satisfied enough to accept her terms, I give her a nod and turn to make my way towards the front door of the building closest to me.

"Dad?" Cari tries to address me and causing me to halt half-way to the door that I come to realize is missing altogether.

"Please, Cari." I respond. "And you too, Tolan. There's no time for arguing, and you need to use the time you still have left to hide. Not just for your own good, but for the good of all of us."

I can hear Nina whispering tell the kids to follow her while I continue to feel their eyes penetrating me, longingly staring at her father and despite my best attempts just as I having fully realized that this could be the last time any of us ever sees the other again.

Closing my eyes for a few seconds and already starting to focus my mind, blending out all that is around, and get myself as close to the mental state I need to be in, as I possibly can, I open them again after the seconds pass and without taking another look around myself, only to see the two Cyndaquils slowly heading after the Zorua, I resume walking towards the building.

Even more rundown than I had anticipated initially, I can feel the floor giving in under my weight.

'It won't be pretty, but it will have to do.' I conclude before deciding to stick to the walls as to not break through the floor and possibly get stuck underneath.

'This is what I am.' I tell myself while sitting down in the corner left of the missing front door and in front of a sectioned off stairway leading into a basement too dark for me to see down into. Originally, another door that one would have had to open in order to get into the basement must have stood there, yet it too is missing, leaving behind only an empty frame.

'I do what I can, for I know what needs to be done.' I begin thinking, almost chanting the words as if they were lyrics. 'Because I am, will and always have been that, which is different. - I am the holder. - That is who I am.'

Despite me trying my best, to concentrate, it is still hard to forget about the impending doom and the fact that the clock continues to tick throughout all of my failed attempts.

'I am the holder.' I calmly remind myself, not just to focus my mind, but also to try and forget the urgency I find myself in. 'And this is what I do; this is who I am, will be and always have been.'

Focusing all of my strength on the fact and all the willpower I still have access to, I finally start to get a response, despite all of my previous attempts having failed. Yet the excitement works against me, and what little of a tingling feeling managed to grow inside my forehead quickly disappears as soon as I realize it was ever there.

Yet the fact that I might be able to get my plan to work, as well as the fact that I was already much closer than I was on my first attempt at summoning my own entrance to the Library, without the help of anyone else or some kind of apparatus leaves me with the necessary confidence to try again, this time without allowing myself to be distracted by feelings of accomplishment.

'I am the holder, that is who I am. Am the one who controls, I am the one who was foretold.' I continue chanting, maintaining my concentration and only focus on the meaning behind the thoughts.

'I am the one who's destined. To do as no one else can. - I am the holder; the holder is who I am.'

I can feel the tingling spread just as it should, feel it engulf my body just as I remember it always doing and how it's supposed to. And with my mind strongly set of the empty doorframe leading down into the basement, I open my eyes to see the stairs having vanished, and the doorframe having been replaced by a narrow opening leading down a flat corridor, at the end of which there is light falling all the way through the gate.

Above my head and through a missing window I can see torches shaking back and forth. But knowing that as soon as I would cross the border of the entrance, whatever is going on now, and whoever is out there looking for me, the laws of the universe would force them to stop and wait for my return, time itself would be robbed from them, leaving them frozen without ever realizing that they were.

Standing up and walking over towards the gate, the ground gives in and my right foot gets stuck.

"Hey, I think I heard something from over there." One of the voices says from outside.

If it wasn't for what little of a clear mind I just forced upon myself, all the sleep deprivation still plaguing my body would probably cause me to freak out. But seeing how it is only one foot, I carefully drop down on all fours before proceeding to pull the limb out of the hole.

I can hear the voices grow closer and closer and decide to remain remaining on all fours, not just to keep myself from breaking through the floor again, but to keep myself from being seen despite the inexplicable light coming from the gate probably already having grabbed the attention of those outside.

I take a few more steps and finally cross the threshold that would grant me all the time in the world to come up with a plan, as well as answers to all the questions still plaguing my mind.

Yet while the thought of why it was even possible for me to succeed, as safeguards to prevent me from summoning a portal while in danger should be in place, even the answer to this latest question lies just a few more steps away.

'Safely tugged away from anyone who might abuse the knowledge.' I find myself smiling, chanting the words in my mind just as I had been when trying to concentrate, before my right paw passes though the entrance without any resistance.

 _## - End of Season 5 - ##_

 _Author Note:_  
 _I hope you liked what you read, but this marks the end of season #5._  
 _No promises yet on when the next season will come out. Because if you couldn't already guess, I don't have as much time to spare as when I originally started._  
 _Though I can promise you, that this isn't going to be the last you hear of Cyder, with the next few chapters already put to paper as I write this._


	84. Legacy

_Author Note:_  
 _A new season starts and Cyder must find his way through his kingdom of wisdom, exploring the Library in search of knowledge he will need before returning._

 _This season features ~27000 words spanning chapters #84-#96, following the usual upload schedule of one chapter per day._

 _Enjoy, and don't forget to say if you do!_

"What do you mean by ~testing you~?" I ask quite openly, causing the Feraligatr leaning against the opposing wall to meet my stare after looking out of the cavern and into the lush prairie while waiting for me to make the next move.

"Is this your home?" I continue the interrogation before Mellow manages to answer the first question.

"In a way." He responds, pausing for a moment to look me over once more while I notice that flames I hadn't even noticed and were probably not helping my case when I was still trying to hide from the giant, begin to recede as I start to calm down.

"Assuming that this is not another one of your practical jokes, there's going to be a lot I'll have to explain to you."

He sighs and pushes himself away from the wall, leaving behind a small puddle of water that had collected underneath him, before telling me to follow as he starts heading away from the entrance and deeper into the cave system.

"Where are we going? And what is this place?" I inquire, still not having received a useful answer and feeling of unease from being lead back into the dark labyrinth of tunnels starting to boil up again.

"Let's start with the simple things." The blue creature responds, not turning towards me, but instead taking a turn left and heading the opposite direction of the corridor I stumbled through before.

Suppressing the urge to interrupt him once again, but still wondering what he might be building up to, my attention remains at its peak while he slowly continues explaining after letting another few moments of silence pass.

"This guy named Cyder is you, though I assume you already figured as much."

"No." I interrupt almost as if out of reflex, before a bizarre rock formation to my left manages to distract, leaving Mellow unimpressed and forcing him to wait before I quickly notice that I had stopped.

A weakly shimmering stone stands out of the wall, producing a dim light that is reflected multiple times by its crystal surface forming a rainbow of a few colors, some more visible upon closer examination directly beneath.

"My name's Quill." I try to explain, slowly averting my gaze from the shimmering stone and not understanding the reasoning behind his argument. "I came here on accident when me and my friend Treek found some kind of statue of a Charizard in the middle of nowhere."

"Treek..." The Water Type whispers to himself, surprise in his voice sounding almost as though he already knew the name before quickly starting over.

"I can't tell you if it was really just an accident, but I can assure you that we would have met sooner or later." He explains, forcing me look away from the stone after the shimmering source of natural light almost managed to hypnotize me again.

Mellow has long stopped waiting for me, and facing him now, the sheer sight of his size manages to scare me again, despite the fact that considering the numerous opportunities he already had to betray me, I should probably stop being scared of him at all.

"But the point is that you must be Cyder, simply because you're the Holder."

Somewhat surprised that he would know that, but remembering Treek's explanation of the fact quite literally being written on my forehead, I refrain from interrupting the 'gator again before he continues.

"You see." He tries to argue instead. "We're in what you have probably already came to know as the library."

"The library?" I interrupt him, despite my best efforts not to. Yet wanting to say more, I fail when my throat jams from question upon question, all stumbling over each other.

"Yes." Mellow answers, not sharing my excitement and remaining calm before turning around to continue heading down the tunnel, leaving me to myself before hurrying after when he continues explaining.

"You must be wondering who I am." He continues as we hit a junction within a path and head right, only to immediately hit another and turn left to head down a steep slope. "And I'll explain once we're in the next sector."

Following closely after the Feraligatr as not to lose sight of him and get lost, I begin to notice a new form of light illuminating the surrounding tunnel. Until now, visibility has been scarce, but as I look around the ceiling and walls, I notice them having become straight, with long tubes of light illuminating the tunnel looking more and more mon-made from above.

At first I think to recognize them Luminous Orbs, but after passing a few, some of which seemingly broke and stopped giving off light, I begin to spot differences. Unlike the Orb I had a chance of playing with while in the claws of Jacob; I mean ~Monster~, their light doesn't appear to resonate from a flame frozen inside. Though they are still too bright for me to look at directly, unlike Orbs, I can't feel any form of life held inside, and instead notice their hue and brightness quickly changing ever so slightly in what feels like a kind of pulse switching back and forth many dozen times a second.

After almost falling over a loose pebble forcing me to take better notice of where I'm going, both the Feraligatr and I continue to remain quiet, until I almost run into him when he stops in front of a rock wall a few meters after the tunnel had grown considerably wider.

"Did we take a wrong turn?" I ask, not able to see the Water Type's expression before he turns to face me, appearing quite amused about my question.

"No." He smiles. "I used to get lost a lot when you first brought me here, but even though I spend most of the half millennium that passed since then, I did explore a sizeable portion of the library before finally getting bored."

"But that would mean..." I try to interrupt, but get stuck on my words when fresh air begins to rush towards me, alongside bright and most importantly natural light flooding the tunnel, forcing me to squeeze my eyes tightly before they slowly start adjusting to the newfound brightness.

'Where is all of this light coming from? I thought we were underground.' I continue to wonder before slowing managing to force open one eye at a time, only to see Mellow walking through what used to be a solid wall of boring, old stone only moments ago.

An exit to the cave is located directly in front of me. I don't know how it could have opened up without causing some kind of tremor, nor do I manage to grasp how such bright light could flood a cavern this far underground. Whatever had removed the wall, it was fast and quiet, and didn't leave anything behind other than the Water Type standing a few meters ahead and addressing me.

"These things aren't supposed to stay open for too long." He says, his words sounding distant and don't carry the echo I would have expected from a cavern somehow open to the sky, its ground even lined with healthy looking grass.

Rubbing my eyes one last time, with them still not fully adjusted to the bright sunlight, I finally step after Mellow without any feasible explanation coming to mind.

I wake up, yawning, stretching my muscles, blinking a couple of times and testing my jaw before checking my surroundings as I try to figure out where I am and how I got there.

'Last I remember, I narrowly escaping into the library, so I guess that's at least a hint to the first question.' I quickly conclude before rubbing my eyes again and taking a closer look at my immediate surroundings.

It seems as though there is nothing but soft pillows all around me, very colorful and each woven from a different kind of fabric, it is obvious that they had been put together without any sense of fashion, but pure functionality.

I quickly find an exit to the jungle of fabric, and jumping through the opening, I land on a cold, hard stone floor.

The walls are empty and unfurnished and the hat I was sure I wore when entering is nowhere to be seem. Turning around, the bed I had apparently been resting in is much larger than I had anticipated, and suitable to fit 'mons many times the size of me. Built directly as part of the stone floor, and only filled with soft objects that must have been lying around, I start to wonder if it was even meant as a bed, or simply turned into one.

'No doubt that the pillows and blankets are a fairly new addition.' I assume, and conclude that it had been Mellow who brought me here after finding me passed out by the River Gate.

One of the walls has a huge, old and rundown looking door, matching the size of the bed, while a last wall to the right of me answers the unstated question of where the light filling this long-abandoned, and only recently revived room meant for me to sleep is located.

'I wonder who, or what last took their rest here before I took mine.' I wonder, starting to consider the bed's odd square shape and large size a byproduct of being used by the ancients once. But finding my mind just as clear and well rested as the rest of my body, I step towards it so as to take a look outside.

There is no glass, or any kind of railing that may have protect me from falling out. And though I spot what probably used to be a bracket meant to support some sort of pane, my attempts to lean my head outside to catch some fresh air, as well as a better look at what lies beyond are hindered when my head hits an invisible barrier halfway through the opening.

While I fail to take a look directly downwards, what I see still manage to astound me.

I see multiple towers, all made from the same bright stone, somewhat resemblant of sandstone, but scattered all over the scene.

Some of them are connected with walkways leading up, down, or simply straight. Some are extremely narrow, probably containing nothing more than a simple spiraling staircase if I were to judge by their size, but none I manage to spot surpass the high of the tower I assume to be in. Each of them ends in a clearly visible cone-shaped roof, made out of red shingles and I being to realize that I must be far up onto the sky.

Watching for a while and starting to notice the layer of clouds forming a solid surface far below, only punctured by the occasional tower, the rate of which seems to diminish the further I look away from my own.

The farthest I manage to spot, still of a quite sizeable width when judging by a few much narrower I spot around, it is at least three, if not even four kilometers away from me.

'Mellow must have discovered this sector since the last time we've met.' I conclude before finally averting my gaze from the outside world, but not after watching a shingle on a nearby tower come loose and plummet into the abyss below, before disappearing out of sight after penetrating the layer of clouds just when disappearing from of my viewing angle.

'Mellow...' I repeat the name of the Feraligatr in my head. 'He'll finally be able to answer some of my questions concerning the library and Mystery Dungeons. - But where is he, and why isn't he here?'

Mellow had always been there for me when entering the library. I've never gotten around to asking him how he knew when, or where I'd show up, despite the fact that he couldn't use the Terminal. Yet seeing how at least a quarter hour must have already passed since I woke up, I start to conclude that maybe he didn't get the memo on me waking up.

"Mellow?" I speak aloud, surprising myself by the echo returning to me from the barren stone walls all around. "I'm awake."

Waiting a few moments in hopes of a response, even attempting another look outside as far as I can before my head hits the invisible barrier again, this time leaving behind a small imprint for a few moments before fully vanishing, no response remains what I can head, causing me to decide to take matters into my own paws.

'I know how to activate the gates between sectors, so why should I wait for him to show up.' I conclude and start moving towards the rundown door I noticed earlier. 'I'll just go find the nearest gate, and from there on out, It'll be child's play to figures out where that 'gator lingers.'

'Only thing standing in my way is this door...' I end my train of thought abruptly, staring at the blockade covering the entrance and only exit to the room.

Split into two wings, and missing a handle on both of them, each of the doors is held in place by a total to three hinges along the walls.

'Mellow probably didn't have any troubles pulling this thing open.' I sigh and swallow nervously after realizing their size, before getting to work on the right wing, which decides to give me a hard time by not moving an inch before forcing me to give up as I realize that its hinges are rusted shut.

'No chance unscrewing those.' I think to myself, remembering my first escape from Jacob in what feels like a distant memory at this point. But no loosing hope, yet still somewhat worried, I take a look at the hinges of the left wing to see them in a much better condition that the other's, leading me to test my luck when I being attempting to open it.

My efforts are well placed, and without any of the effort I had already put into moving the other wing, the door finally stops resisting and slowly creaks open as its thick wood scrapes along the stone floor, the noise of which continues to echo throughout my room, as well as the corridor directly behind even once I manage to create a gap big enough for me to fit through.

Unlike my own room, I don't spot any more windows. And as I step outside, I'm met with nothing but darkness failing to impress me, but simply causing me to use what was given to me as I summon a small candle light within the palm of my left paw.

The roof is lined with wooden beams of dark wood, as well as the occasional crossbeam meant to improve the structural integrity of the entire complex. The floor, differing from what I had already become used to within my room consists of big, polished stones, stuck together by a rough paste of smaller stones, as opposed to the rough and unpolished rocky floor behind.

The walls on the other side remain just as they were, featuring a pale yellow now only emphasized by the flame happily dancing within the confines of my paw, enjoying its existence and continuing to do so when I decide to follow the hallway opening to both side right.

Taking a last look behind, I notice a sign next to the door, featuring writing I fail to read. Using a somewhat older set of the symbols the ancients used, as opposed to some of the other wonders of their library, it almost seems crude to me as I get bored after realizing that it appears to be nothing other than some sort of identification number.

Mellow once told me that before my mind was wiped, I knew how to read, and write in all of its styles perfectly. Though staring at the symbols now, I would not question the statement if someone told me I was looking at a picture Cari drew around the time she learned how to speak.

The corridor, curving left to match the shape of a tower fitting in with the others I saw from my window and being just as dark as it was the second I entered it, continues once as I pass multiple closed door looking identical to the one belonging to my room, alongside more of the crude symbols engraved next to them. And it takes some more of the mindless wandering, before I reach a flight of stair leading to a lower level left of me.

The staircase, as well as an associated railing are both made of wood. And in the weak candle light I can't be sure, but from the looks of it, the wood, definitely differing from the kind making up the beams running overhead, must naturally already be very dark, with the treatment it was given to prolong its lifetime only adding to that darkness.

I take a look over the railing, wondering if the stairs would be leading all the way to the base of the tower. Yet to my disappointment I can immediately see the light of my candle hit the ground of the floor directly below, where the stairs seem to end.

'I guess the Ancients liked stairs as much as I do.' I think to myself, remembering how much trouble 'mons with large feet or heavy tails have getting up, simple due to the fact of having to drag these extensions of theirs over each and every one of the steps.

Considering the fact that Mellow is one such creature, I turn away from the railing to continue searching the upper floor for the gate before heading down and try my luck again.

'Although that would be a lot of gates, I guess every pair of floors in these towers has its own.' I consider as I proceed on my search for the exit.

'This entire sector was probably used as a housing complex for the last of their kind.' I wonder somewhat absentmindedly as I stroll past a smaller door to the left of me, standing open just a little bit and leading towards the tower's center.

'Once filled with millions of them, their destiny lead to them fading away one by one, with the last of their kind eventually wondering these halls just as I am. - On the search for any sign of life, ready to be happy about any contact at all.'

"Mellow!" I shout, noticing that I had stopped actively informing him of my presence if he is even around. 'Maybe he's just around the next corner, to come running at me.' I think hopingly when a cold chill runs down my spine as the flame in my paw flickers momentarily, upset about the unnecessary distraction I had distilled in myself.

Yet as I shake the emerging thoughts of fear again while expecting to hear the Water Type respond, something different catches my attention instead.

An unexplained shadow in the corner of my eye causes me to turn towards it. And stopping just next to me, I spin around to greet the sneaky Water Type, only be faced with nothing at all when the shadow vanishes just as unexplained as it had appeared before.

'That's strange...' I tilt my head, looking down the corridor behind me arcing right. I finally spot the door I had previously passed without noticing, but aside from the candle still dancing in my right paw, remaining unaffected by my confusion and curiosity, the only thing moving other than it is the mildly tempered air directly above, swaying back and forth from the heat resonating from the flame.

Slowly turning back the way I was facing before, I decide to dismiss what I saw as nothing but my imagination before continuing on my search for the Sector Gate.


	85. Encounter

The hallway continues to bend as I follow its curvature, the sounds of my paws shuffling over the polished floor resonating dampened and echoing throughout the hallway in front as well as behind.

Besides my thoughts, nothing else can be heard and the feeling of unease returns when I begin to wonder whether something had happened to Mellow.

'This isn't like him at all.' I think, still mostly annoyed and not looking ahead before awaking from the hypnotizing effects the cracks in the floor gave me by a glimpse of light up ahead.

Excited to finally have found something new, I look up only to see me standing where I had started off from. It is the room I had slept in, with its tiresome door still standing partially open, letting some light falling through the window inside enter the hallway.

'Great.' I scold myself, now even more annoyed. 'I just went in a big circle.'

Sighing aloud, although no one would hear me do so, I shake my head thinking that the gate must be located on the lower floor as reachable by the staircase I had discovered, before turning away from the door once again, only to freeze in shock.

With the light falling in through the crack in the door, I had absentmindedly extinguished the flame while looking around. But blinking and hoping that what stands before me may possibly just a mirage, maybe resulting from my mind not finding the same rest as my quite well rested body had managed to get, the sight still remains a moment later.

The shadow. A figure shrouded in black mist or whatever it is remains in full view, staring at me motionlessly without any discernible eyes.

Returning its stare and not daring to move a muscle, I remember the numerous times I had observed it before. The morning after arriving in Laizisso, then later again in the dungeon. And although I can't be sure, quite possible on my way there as well.

"Who are..." I try to communicate, before the remainder of my inquiry gets stuck in my through.

Almost as though it had been waiting for me to respond, the shadow opens its hidden eyes, flattening its wavering tendrils of smoke to reveal the shape of another Quilava. I recognize the eyes immediately, feeling the anxiety every encounter had instilled in me bubbling up again, to leave me helpless and setting patterns of thought in motion as those felt by a 'mon knowing it was just about to die.

Two small, red and glowing circles tower before me as the form of my own image fades as to return to that of featureless mist. Only the eyes remain, the light from the room still brushing my right ankle slowly recede from the waving tendrils of dark and ashy pillows and what appears as smoke at first glance covering and absorbing the light completely.

A single thought remains in my head. 'Run!' Repeating itself over and over while my body fails to understand, instead remaining frozen for way too long for my taste before finally grasping the situation and realizing it would probably be in its best interest to follow my orders.

I turn around and start running in a single motion, hurrying as fast as my legs can carry me, quickly dropping to all fours to increase my speed further and without any doubt on mind that it is following me.

Yet I don't dare to look behind. I don't dare to see its blood-red eyes again. There wouldn't be a point in confirming a fact. Yet hope remains as the only thing audible is once again me, the echoing sound of my paws being the only thing still reminiscent of my presence.

'Just what in Arceus's name is that thing?' I question myself, heading back the way I came from, the corridor curving right.

'The other room toward the center.' I remember. 'I can't risk trying to get to the stairs, without knowing what would await me there. I have to reach the other room and just hope that ~this thing~ won't be able to find me in there.'

Rushing through the darkness and simply hoping that my memory wouldn't fail me, my anxious breathing benefits me as small and short-lived flames escaping alongside my breath guide my way through the darkness.

Anxiously starting to fear that I had already passed the awaited door, I defy my better judgement and finally dare to take a single look behind, looking for any signs of the entities presence. Exhaling a more sizable, but still short-lived flame, and failing to spot any signs of its presence, instead only seeing another closed door identical to mine, a moment of relieve comforts me before the sight of its red eyes comes back to mind.

Looking ahead again, the expected door towards my right finally comes into view, leaving me relieved to still see it standing open just by the tiny amount I had remember from before.

Squeezing through the crack, hoping to find nothing but another empty room, a part of me hoping to find another stash of pillows, I find myself in more darkness, pressing my back against a cold stone wall next to the door, my breathing slowly calming down alongside my eyes adjusting to their new surroundings.

Instincts tries to affirm me that I managed to elude my pursuer, only judging by the fact that none of its movements can be heard and with no way of believing its presence other than spotting it again, I focus on remaining quiet instead. Yet only a few moments pass before I start noticing some light falling from the ceiling, before the air temperature catches my attention next.

The room I left earlier, as well as the corridor wrapping around the tower was kept at well acclimated room temperatures. Suited to match the needs of as many creatures as possible, being one of Fire I could have gone for something a bit cozier. Though possibly due to the darkness slowly receding as my eyes adjust, or maybe because of some other reason such as the temperature itself, I find myself in an utterly freezing environment.

What little bit of light visible starting reveal small clouds of smoke escaping my nostrils when exhaling, the sight of this smoke manages to shock me at first before regaining a handle on myself after realizing that it is not the same smoke as that of the entity hunting me.

The cold starts to settle in almost immediately and I try to clench my fist in an attempt to counter it, not daring to create an open flame, still pressing against the wall instead. Yet luckily it is far from unbearable, and as my eyes adjust more and more, so does the rest of me.

'This is no simple floor.' I find myself awing as I being to see more and more of what surrounds me.

Quickly taking a look at the door and trying to keep any unnecessary movements to an absolute minimum, I decide to stay hidden just where I am, possibly to get a jump on my assailant, or at least a head start in case I'd force me to run again.

Though my astonishment about the sights surrounding me doesn't fade.

I find myself pressing against the wall of what must have once been some sort of balcony, with many hundreds of similar looking ones below, as revealed by a glimpse over an edge less than half a meter next to me.

Scattered over the walls and protruding at random places with most of them appearing just as damaged as I realize my own to me, missing their railings and some even missing the ground I stand on right now all together, the thought of the floor giving in making me press harder against the wall for even more reasons.

The little bit of light falling through the ceiling doesn't manage to illuminate much, the shine not managing to reach the bottom of the enormously high tower by a long shot.

Following the light wherever it hits, I spot a lonely tree growing out of one of the balconies below, doing its best to reach the life-providing light for as many hours a day as possible. While I don't know how this green neighbor of mine ever managed to survive the thousands of years that had to have passed since the last time anyone watered it, I don't know. And before I can think about it, something else manages to distract me once again.

A blue flash of light, alongside some nearby crackling grabs my attention.

Originating from the roof near the true center of the tower, I spot a loose brick hovering in midair above a blue, dimly lit, and still mostly transparent blanket of what appears as ice on first glance.

But I quickly recognize it as another of the indestructible barriers once devised by the ancients, similar to that which held me back when I attempted to take a look out of the window in my room.

I watch as the brick remains lying on top the transparent wall, holding its place and continuing to strain the skin which continues to flicker before the ice surrounding it melts, letting it pass through and fall into the abyss below before being stopped by another surface of ice that had remained invisible until now.

The hole it passed through close immediately. And before it manages to, a strong wind appears, picking up loose pebbles and broken pieces of stone from the surrounding balconies and carrying them towards it.

Not being in any danger from the current, as I am both heavy and distant enough to feel nothing but an uncomfortably cold breeze, the ice reappears quickly to stop the wind turning into a full blown storm, dropping some pebbles still in midair to follow after the brick that had caused the hole in the first place.

I hadn't thought of it yet, but being this far away from the ground, past the layer of clouds and then some, there wouldn't be much of a breathable atmosphere left for someone such as myself to live off of.

'The ancients must have set up this ice to keep the air inside, which would probably also explain the other layer further below.' I explain to myself, assuming its function to keep an even pressure within the tower itself, but mostly interested in what kind of technology is in play to create the ice invisible to the eye until solid matter would strain it unevenly.

Though the interest quickly fades when I notice ashy clouds appearing next to me, creeping though the crack in the door just as I had a few minutes ago.

'No!' I silently cry to myself, staring at the black mist with fear in my eyes and doing my best to hold back the anxiety, even deciding to hold my breath, only to have my heart begin pounding loud enough to allow my tree neighbor a few levels below to hear it.

The shadow, blocking the only feasible escape route takes its time to enter the balcony, as I'm not even sure if it already knew of my presence, was still searching for me, or was just drawn here after noticing the air pressure dropping from the hole in the ice.

"Et ludos incipere..." A deep voice speaks to me, hiding somewhere within the could next to me, its tone not reminding me of anything I had heard since.

I close my eyes and try to prepare for what is about to come, yet before it manages elaborate on what it is trying to convey, possibly even using the common tongue, it is cut short by the door loudly swinging open completely, followed by the sound of running water and a bright light it appears incapable of absorbing emanating from the other side.

I look up and see its red eyes widen, almost as though it is capable of experiencing pain, before they extinguish and the pillows of ash surrounding them fade alongside the light that had defeated it, leaving behind nothing but a wet floor and a quickly disappearing current of water carrying some loose rocks over the balcony's edge once protected by a railing.


	86. Meanwhile

"There's not much time to explain." The voice of Mellow shouts into the darkness, his presence quickly becoming clear to me, that alongside the fact of him just saving me only slowly becoming apparent as I only now spot him standing inside the door.

"It may be gone for now, but that can change quickly. – And it won't be in any better mood then!"

"Mellow, I..." I try to begin, happy to see him and slowly step out of the shadow I was still cowering in, the light of a Luminous Orb the Water Type had taken out of a lantern returning to normal with the 'gator now in the process of putting it back inside.

"Cyder." He exclaims even before finishing, looking up and with nothing but pure happiness in both his eyes and voice. "I just... You were passed out when I found you." He tries to explain himself, quickly changing the pitch to an apologetic tone. "I thought this place would be safe for you to rest. - I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize." I respond as I take notice the Orb once again inside the lantern growing darker by the second. "But we need to get away."

"Yes." The Feraligatr responds, snapping out of his regret and grabbing the light source. "Hurry after me."

The 'gator turns around, and heading for the staircase I had previously discovered, the idea of being saved and escaping settles in, almost leaving me with the urge to laugh out of joy.

But taking a quick look behind to see the darkness indistinguishable from the shadow creature quickly satisfies that urge, only leaving me with the urge not to slow down the Water Type's quick pacing bent on not leaving me behind.

We reach the wooden set of stairs leading to the floor below, but the feelings and memories of dark tendrils stretching out to wrap around me and stop me where I stand don't stop, leaving me to accidentally step in a wet spot left behind by the Feraligatr carrying the lantern that had and continues to draw me near it.

"Hurry now!" Mellow instructs me, as he waddles down the steps, his tail crashing against the stone wall and leaving it dank but not further damaged.

Considering the incentive probably back in its feet, that is if it has any, I waste no time and follow the Water Type's advice as I try not to step into more of the puddles left behind while rushing down the stairs.

Spiraling clockwise and sticking to steepest part on the right, I manage not to fall but still fall somewhat behind before reaching the bottom, from where I can spot Mellow rushing towards a sunlit, straight and surprisingly long corridor.

'It must be one of the bridges I saw interconnecting nearby towers.' I explain to myself, the idea that my tower didn't have its own sector gate surprising me contradicting my prior theory of every pair of floors having its own dedicated gate.

The bridge is completely covered, but may windows have been cut into the walls to allow brightness to flood in. Once all of them probably featured real glass panes, and as I waste no further time to hurry after Mellow and towards the promised gate, I am surprised to see some of the holes still holding the surprisingly cleanly made panes, contrary to the floor in front of other revealing rare and dull looking shards.

I entire complex must be surrounded by the ice, which is what must have allowed it to remain standing despite the massive stress that just a mild breeze this far up must be exerting on the tower's integrity. I guess at one point the barrier had yielded, causing the air to escape and to shatter most windows.

Trying not to create another gap between me and the Water Type, I drop to all fours again and hurry after him, quickly managing to catch up as his size, tail and the fins don't leave him quite as nimble as a land-based create such as myself.

'At least above water.' I think to myself jokingly, maybe trying to forget the imminent danger still on its way to catch up to its escapists.

"What was that thing?" I ask, huffing between words as I find myself back besides the 'gator, making sure not to touch the somewhat wet stone he continues to leave behind, only to immediately fail with part of my left paw starts feeling numb after becoming wet.

"I had hoped you could tell me..." Mellow begins, breathing just as heavily before changing subject. "We're almost at the gate. - It's just where this bridge connects to the next tower."

We make haste and I repeat my mistake of stepping into one of the puddles just as the windows accompanying the bridge come to an end, now leaving my other paw to feel tingly as well.

Somewhat cringing, I take a look behind to be relieved when I fail to spot the shadow anywhere on the bridge.

The corridor ahead appears to lead back into darkness before wrapping around this second tower appearing much thinner than the previous one.

Mellow stands before the sector gate, a hollow door frame with nothing but bricks blocking the entrance where one would have expected to find a door.

They appear quite innocuous to the untaught eye, appearing as nothing but a walled of entrance to some hidden room. I once wondered why the ancients chose to leave their appearance as generic as possible, before reaching the conclusion that it must have been meant as a sort of guard against a simpler minded creature. No special features of interest to arouse suspicion, or anything else for that matter, all circuitry of interest stashed away within the base.

The instinctual response of such a creature ranging from simply ignoring it, to breaking it to see what is physically located behind, such a creature would trap itself before realizing the then broken exit.

Looking back towards the last tower, but still not spotting anything of interest, sunlight falling through the gate summoned by Mellow, now distracts me to pay attention to where we are going.

"Come." Mellow states while I feel wind and fresh air rushing past me, trying to balance the different in air pressure between here and where we are going. And with the Water Type already on his way to step through the gate, I waste no time to follow before finding myself standing in a place I know and remember quite well.

Rubbing my eyes slightly and feeling as though I had to sneeze, I turn around to see the image of the corridor we were in only moments ago dispersing into smaller and smaller pieces as the gate disengages, before revealing a walled off door frame similar to that back in the tower.

It is the clearing that Mellow had brought me to on my first visit to the library. With the gate the two of us commonly refer to as the River Gate standing in the middle of a green and lush clearing, it appears as though its existence serves no other purpose than to break up the view.

The air is clean and I take a deep breath to notice that the urge of sneezing has disappeared.

Yet unlike me, Mellow didn't stop to appreciate the scenery, probably because the temple has become a sort of home for him, with a device he simply refers to as ~his bed~, and allowing him to slumber through the centuries hidden inside a cavern beneath the.

Already on his way towards the beautiful temple made out of pure marble and overgrown with vines and tendrils. Quite different from many of the other structures I've encountered in this realm, I often question if it could have really been build all that time ago by the ancients originally populating this place.

From what I've seen, it doesn't really fit their style, usually focusing on extraordinary structures that far surpass anything any sane 'mon would consider to even be achievable. Yet the structure of the temple itself is really nothing out of the ordinary. A building that, admittedly very scenic, most definitely isn't impossible to reconstruct without the aid of advanced knowledge known to its builders, may they've been ancients or not.

Within its catacombs it harbors what I can only describe as the most powerful device left by them. Mellow once introduced it to me as 'The Terminal'. It is a device that against all odds has proven more helpful than anything else in this world of wonder, separated by the river of time and space from anything else, with me being the living key for opening a passage anywhere.

"Are you OK?" Mellow asks as I notice that I had yet to move an inch since passing through the gate and escaping our pursuer.

"There's a lot that's not OK right now." I begin, only now realizing that the time had finally come for some of my questions to be answered.

I start heading towards a low-reaching mural that sections off some flowers the Water Type likes to tend to when not attempting to search for anything that could shed a light on the fate that had ended by last lifetime.

The Feraligatr has taken a seat on the grass next to the bed of flowers, waiting for me to come over.

"What happened since I've last seen you." I begin, still on my way over. "I had visions of the library being in danger, and assuming that shadow has something to do with it, I need you to tell me everything you know about this."

"I..." Mellow begins, knowing the question would be stated but still appearing surprised, stares past the sector gate behind me. Past it, a cobblestone path leads down the mountain, connecting to an abandoned crossroad that once allowed travelers to visit the lands around without the use of the sector gates scattered throughout.

The countryside, though desert of any sentient creature to communicate with, does feature the occasional berry bush or feral. And with the weather never once having been harsh within this region, alongside many ponds and lakes scattered throughout, Tokaru had given Mellow the life of peace so many others would have gladly traded for eternal loneliness.

"Not as much as you might hope." He begins slowly, still staring down the path as though he was expecting someone to show up.

"It started a couple of months ago when I was exploring a portion of the library I hadn't been to before." He finally starts, sounding as though he had already practiced the lines, but simply forgotten them before. "It's the underground portion of some ruins far up north. They're off-charts, and I had to get there on foot after failing to connect to its gate, thus explaining why I had to hike there."

"But after entering the underground, it didn't take long before I figured it was just another storage for random assortments of items."

"The entrance is above the surface, but there is a huge structure buried underneath. Corridors upon corridors lined with bookshelves, some of them containing strange devices that I had neither seen nor heard of before."

"Just as its gate though, the lighting was broken and I couldn't get it to work. So finding nothing but unorganized chaos, and not knowing what any of it was, nor any hint to it, I simply decided not to touch any of them."

"Yet in my excitement I went further..." He pauses for a moment, almost seeming shy to admit something before proceeding. "I'm not usually one for a bad sense of direction, but after wandering for a while, I failed to find my way back just as my supplies started running low."

"For a while I chose to ignore it and continued exploring to find the error in the map I had made in my head. But as I continued looking around, it seemed that every corner I took only revealed more mistakes."

The Feraligatr's voice begins to shiver slightly, the Water Type trying to hide the fact as he continues. But I begin to get the distinct feeling that whatever had happened, he somehow thinks it was his fault.

"I didn't know what to do." He continues, trying to keep a firm grasp on his voice before pausing and taking a deep breath. "I didn't plan for anything like it. I didn't have nearly enough supplies on me to stay for much longer. And while I did manage to find and light a torch just as my Orb ran out of power, I had no other choice than to challenge my luck by pushing onwards to find another exit."

"It's OK." I try to comfort the 'gator. "You're still here, so you must have managed to find one. And that's the most important part."

Ignoring my interruption, Mellow continues after taking a short pause. "I was starting to get dehydrated and my mind began playing tricks on me. Even though I realized it couldn't be real at the time, I saw you with Tokaru at your side. - You were standing in the middle of a corridor next to a bunch of bookshelves in a narrow corridor covered by a balcony of sorts. You were carrying a flame and the two of you were chatting among each other."

"I know it wasn't you, and at the time I was already wondering why my mind thought showing me the same person twice would make sense, much less a Charizard that could have never fit through some of the narrower corridors I had to take to get there. - But it still seemed real at the time."

The Water Type takes yet another pause followed by a deep and shaken breath.

"Look." I try to comfort him. "Whatever happened, there is no way it could have had anything to do with what is happening here. You know just as well as I do that only a Holder controlling the Terminal could do real harm."

"Cyder." He states, no longer staring off into the distance, his sorry eyes now looking directly into mine and surrendering to his apparent guilt. "I think you should let me finish first."


	87. Lost Knowledge

"I thought my luck had returned when I finally found something I had expected to encounter even less than a rendition of you chatting with a 'mon I thought to never see again, when I stumbled over something I did recognize."

"Something Tokaru once told me never to touch, saying that bad things will come to not just me or him, but every living creature on both side of the river, may it be good or evil."

"At first I thought my mind was playing more tricks on me when I saw a light blue shimmer falling around the corner of a hallway somehow seeming different from the others I had previously mindlessly been trekking through, fatigue creeping up to me from behind."

"Always following Tokaru's wishes, I had never dared to take a look at it before, but I knew immediately that what I found was a second Terminal."

"A second terminal?" I can't help but interrupt the Feraligatr. "But there can be only one. I mean... Believe me when I say this, but there is no way that the one below the temple could coexist with another."

"You're right..." Mellow states, swallowing before quickly looking towards the mentioned temple and getting up to his feet. "I think it's best if I show you."

Not giving me another look, the Water Type starts making his way up the long and shallow flight of stairs leading from the clearing to the temple's front entrance.

Knowing that he expects me to follow him, and considering that I don't really have any other choice, I decide to follow and do as he implies, on all fours hurrying forwards as to not get left behind by his steady pace, running up the first couple of steps before standing up on two when I arrive by his side.

"Look Mellow." I try to talk to the giant towering besides me. "It could actually be possible for there to be more than one terminal." I try to explain what must have happened, assuming that the one underneath the temple has simply deactivated.

"By approaching the terminal in the ruins you may have inadvertently activated it. And when I say that there can only be one, I mean that only one terminal can be in control at once. – Still though, the mere existence of it could mean all sorts of things."

Mellow doesn't respond to me as he passes through the temple's front entrance as I stop in my step after realizing the chaos and destruction within.

Multiple pillars have fallen over and part of the entrance hall's roof has come in. The last time I saw its beauty, it was a sight to behold, featuring a marvelous fountain spewing a rainbow of colors reflecting the sunlight falling in from a gorgeous skylight above.

I remember a set of stairs on the opposite side of the hall leading up to a balcony allowing one to oversee the beautiful countryside surrounding the cliff.

The stairs are gone, blocked of by a massive pillar broken into three parts, a gaping hole in the wall now revealing the distant landscape still appearing just as serene as ever.

"By Arceus!" I can't help myself from exclaiming. "What in the name of all that is holy happened here?"

"I don't think any god had something to do with this." Mellow answers, quickly adding on to his statement. "But this isn't what I need to show you."

I turn towards the voice to find the Water Type to my left, heading down a staircase leading into the catacombs.

Marble dust swirled up from our presence floats through the air, and as I floor after Mellow, still wondering what may have happened to cause such destruction, I even notice a wide crack running through the staircase itself, among many smaller pieces of broken marble along its sides.

'This must have been buried by debris.' I think to myself, thinking that Mellow had used the mean time to clean up the larger chunks.

"When I realized what I stumbled over, I took a step back at first." Mellow continues explaining when he reaches the bottom of the stairs where I spot some larger chunks of debris tugged into the corners next to the though cracked, still fairly good-looking stairs.

Only now, looking back up towards the destruction above do I notice the skylight. While it does surprise me that it hasn't broken, always having though it was made out of glass, now I spot it partially embedded into the wall directly above.

"Can you do me a quick favor?" Mellow asks before the favor becomes quite obvious when I notice the stick pointed into my face. Having left his back upstairs, the Water has picked up a torch on way here.

"Sure." I respond, waking my ember and breathing a hot and controlled flame, lighting the wood immediately and without harming the Water Type even if he wasn't resistant to its effects in the first place.

Mellow quickly thanks me before opening a door he had already been standing in front of for a few seconds, separating the upper portion of the temple from what I like to call the catacombs.

"Before you ask." Mellow begins, the smell of stale air surrounding me after only a few stops, and making me quite glad that I had yet eaten something since waking up. "I know what I promised Tokaru, and I swear I didn't break it."

Quickly finding myself able to overcome the staleness of the air, I follow the Water Type, leaving the door open to provide myself with a sort of live-line of fresh and breathable air.

"After hesitating for a moment when first laying eyes on its beauty, I knew that I shouldn't approach it any further than I had already done, intentionally or not."

Taking a right to head down a dark but short hallway, of which I know it would lead to the chamber harboring the Terminal, Mellow continues.

"When I saw you speak with Tokaru, it wasn't the last time I saw you that day." Mellow stops half-way before reaching a wooden door behind which the device lies. "Seconds after I decided to take a step back you appeared again, walking out of a corner not illuminated by the blue glow of the device."

The path blocks off by the Feraligatr I stand before him to listen, the wavering flickers of the torch he carries reminding me of the fact that unlike me, he never had a friend such a fire is for me in all the time he spent alone in this place.

"The shadow seemed to ignore me, and I watched it step up to the Terminal I had just found. So I thought you may have not noticed me and not questioning your presence, I assumed you must have known of it for a long time. But only a few moments passed I started realizing that it wasn't you."

"I don't know it was doing. And I know that even if I had seen more than I did, I would not have understood any of it, the shadow hovering next to the device, what would have been your back turned towards me."

"A few moments of that shadow being at work later, the ground began to shake."

Taking another pause, Mellow doesn't leave me enough time to interrupt him again as he finishes. "I called out of the shadow, telling him to stop. But when it did, I knew for sure that what I saw wasn't you, its body turning around to show a face revealing a pair of ruby-red eyes."

"It stared at me for some time while the ground slowly stopped shaking, before a voice I had never heard before, nor could ever describe to you started talking to me, whatever it tried to say sounding nothing like any language I can understand."

"A moment later, the bookshelf standing behind me much have fallen over, knocking me unconscious."

Pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts and no longer sounding as though he as upset, Mellow continues explaining what happened to him.

"When I woke up I was back at the temple, lying halfway down the road leading up the mountain. The main part of the temple was destroyed, and I used the time since to clean up as much as I could."

Finally turning away from me and walking the last couple of meters between him and the door, I start to understand the situation.

"Over time I found that more than just the temple's lobby and surrounding rooms had been destroyed that day. A crack run through the entire mountain, more noticeable in places than others, but running through my chamber at its base and destroying my bed..."

Not giving me any time to respond, he arrives at the door and opens it carefully after taking a deep breath. And allowing me to look inside, he explains what I see for me. "... And so was the Terminal."

I had not expected to see something like this. Not after seeing how unfazed the remainder of the catacombs were, but there is no doubt that whatever it is that destroyed the temple above, it wasn't targeting the building itself. – It was targeting the Terminal.

A hole in the ceiling lets in sunlight, and I smell the scent of grass reaching down. The shaft is angled and straight, and while not wide enough for me to fit through, it would be big enough for Tolan and Cari to use as a hiding spot.

Pointing directly towards the center of the room, not much of the pinnacle of ancient engineering is left. A spark escaping from a control crystal jumps to another equally as broken shard of a Power Crystal still attached to some loose wiring, alongside more charred rubble and shattered glass once part of a fantastic device that used to be capable of controlling the entirety of the library, bending it to mine and its will.

The once menacing blue simmer of the device is gone, and all that is left is destruction, impossible to be repaired without the knowledge housed in the broken pieces of crystals and wiring, the occasional sparks running across the floor erasing its last remains for all eternity.

"I'm guessing this is beyond your expertise." Mellow asks carefully as I hadn't moved a muscle since laying eyes of the sight.

"It is..." I respond flat, dumbstruck as I carefully pass by the Water Type to enter the room.

"Be careful." He warns me, a notice I disregard as I narrowly avoid stepping into a shard I spot a moment later.

Looking up at the hole in the ceiling, I'm quite surprised to see how cleanly the rock was cut, nothing stopping its path, not even the rock itself.

The hole widens as it reaches further up, at the end of which I even manage to spot some of the temple's marble before looking back down at the mess in front.

Looking around and failing to spot the physical remains a kinetic object would have left behind, I fail to find any and continue to wander what may have caused such effects, the feeling of helplessness settling in as the thought of the Terminal being gone settles in.

Whatever hit here, it must have been built by the ancients and had to have been designed for the single purpose of a physical, destructive force, leaving behind no burn marks other than those left from sparks such as the one arcing dangerously close next to my foot and causing me to be reminded of reality before heading back to Mellow still waiting for me in the doorway, on the way narrowly avoiding the same shard I barely missed a moment ago.

"You didn't do this..." I speak as I pass by him, the Water Type not trying to stop me already on my way upstairs to think about what to do next and hopefully come up with a plan.

"Cyder..." Mellow asks cautiously instead, carefully having closed the door and managing to stop and face me. "I told you everything I know, but I think there is something you're not telling me."

I remain quiet and return the stare the Feraligatr gives me, letting a few moments pass before the Water Type begins speaking again.

"Is there something you know about that shadow that you're not telling?"

'There is...' I think to myself. I have a theory that could explain some parts, but then again: it would leave just as many new questions unanswered as before.'

Deciding not to state the idea for the time being, instead I choose to address another point the 'gator made and still confuses me.

"You said you saw me chatting with Tokaru down in the ruins." I pause for a moment to consider the question, most of my mind still trying to cope with what I saw behind the door I find myself staring at. "Can you remember anything else about what we were doing?"

"I..." Mellow responds quickly before pausing to think. "I already said all I remember. - Just that you disappeared as quickly as you appeared when I looked away for a second."

"This might be important, Mellow." I try to reason with the 'mon. "Do you remember anything else about the layout of that corridor. - You mentioned a balcony before."

"I..." Mellow hesitates again. "It was for such a short moment, and I was dehydrated at the time. - I was focusing on keeping my sanity by the fact that a Charizard could have never fit through some of those corridors."

Pausing again, I lose hope that Mellow may remember anything else. "I'm sorry. If I knew it would be important, I would have paid more attention."

"But you're sure it was Tokaru, right?" I try one last attempt at poking the biggest flaw in my theory, still hoping that the Feraligatr is describing the warehouse that Treek and I found to connect with the library.

"I mean: I'm pretty sure. I felt his presence, and then I saw him just as I remembered him. - But why is this important to you? I thought you'd be more upset about the fact that we've lost the Terminal."

"About that." I speak up, taking a few steps forward and closing the gap between me and Mellow still standing by open door hiding the cluttered mess of split stone, broken crystals, loose wiring and shattered glass.

"Have you tried going back to the ruins to find the Terminal again?"

"I thought about it." The Water Type responds. "But after what happened last time..."

"That wasn't your fault." I try to reassure Mellow. "It couldn't have been. Tokaru may have been overcautious with his warnings about staying away from the Terminal, but from what I've learned in my time operating it, you wouldn't have been able to use it for much more than a really expensive desk lamp unless you were really trying to turn it on. And most importantly, nothing but a living Holder can even activate its more powerful functions."

Pausing for a moment to see the Water Type's reaction, his mood somewhat changes when he looks at me before I continue.

"You said that the sector gate at the ruins is broken. – So how far of a walk is it from the nearest working one?"


	88. The 'Gator left behind

"Depending on the weather, the nearest gate is only couple of hours away on foot." Mellow answers my question, already leaving me satisfied by the fact that getting there is a task quite achievable without wasting too much time.

"But if your planning on going there, I have to warn you that it's pretty out-of-the way." The Feraligatr starts warning. "It's high up north and the land is plagued by strong winds and storms that form over the ocean. - Last time I went there I walked right into a rain shower, so if you're serious about this, you should be prepared to turn back before getting there."

"I am se-..." I begin before getting interrupted by the sound of a door slamming shut, loudly echoing throughout the catacombs. And where I previously saw daylight flooding in through the entrance I left open before, the light has vanished.

Although my own surprise quickly wades, Mellow remains impressed as he drops the torch I had lit for him before walking up to my side.

"Cyder." He begins whispering from next to me. "You need to create light, not as hot, but as bright as you can."

Though not understanding what he is concerned about exactly, I get a strong feeling that our travel plans may have already been put to rest before being fully discussed.

Twisting my wrist as I usually do, I start of by creating a flame just like any other, followed by concentrating into narrowing the stream of elemental energy as far as possible, leaving the flame little to no space for excreting its heat, and forcing it to grow brighter instead.

The halls are brightly lit by a white flame and I can already feel the strength required to keep up the level of concentration taking its toll on me, my arm starting to shake slightly from the stress it is put under.

Mellow on the other slowly advances forward, signaling me to follow closely, before jumping ahead and around the corner behind which the door that had just managed to shut itself lies.

I see his tensed posture relax before telling me that I can do the same before following him around the corner, the blue flame standing in my paw changing its color into a healthy red and yellow while starting to dance.

"I'm sorry." Mellow begins. "But this morning wasn't the first time I've encountered that shadow."

The Water Types takes a deep breath of relieve while I remain cautious, not allowing my flame to fully extinguish while Mellow opens the door a gust of wind must have closed before. "We should get out of here."

The sun has moved and shines through the temple's broken roof, reaching down the set of stairs we quickly begin climbing as I clench my fist, causing the ember to die.

'I guess were leaving behind Mellow's torch.' I think to myself when the 'mon in question begins explaining. "I don't know of anything that can really hurt that shadow, but I know that anything bright can be used to repel it."

'That would explain how he managed to save me back in the tower.' I think to myself, considering the bright light that dispelled the shadow.

"I find that a fully activated Luminous Orb does the job fine." He hints while picking up his bag leaning against a chunk of marble with sharp edges, before turning around to look for me without realizing that I had already reached the top of the stairs.

Spotting me next to him, he turns forward and heads through a wide open door to his left. With a cracked archway, connecting to another hall just as impressive as the lobby used to be, the Feraligatr uses it as storage for food and supplies, as well as other necessities such as orbs.

Mellow told me that the room was originally designed as a banquet hall, meant to act as hosting ground for festivities of large proportions. Although memories of how it used to be like are lost to me like so many other things, I still remember a sizeable table reaching from one end of the room to the other being there the last time I remember seeing it, but now missing. Yet as I enter the hall now, I spot more changes than just a missing table.

The ceiling is high up and surprisingly hasn't been damaged nearly as much as the entrance hall. I notice some cracks near and especially on the back-wall separating it from the lobby, but as my eyes wonder across the mural left of me, passing by some broken and some intact windows, I notice a pile of pillows and blankets matching equally as well as the assortment I was given in the tower, that weren't there last I saw the room.

'Much has changed.' I think to myself as I follow after the Feraligatr, passing by a table of wrinkled, but still eatable berries which the Water Type must have picked a couple of days ago.

The realization of the pillows hits me a moment later as I arrive my Mellow's side.

"Mellow." I begin as he continues going through what I now realize is a stash of various kind of orbs as well as other supplies such as scarfs, before spotting Treek's bag which I carried when entering the library standing off to the side, my hat lying on top and still missing the feathery décor that must have ripped off at one point. "Can you really no longer go to sleep like you did for hundreds upon hundreds of years since you saw me in my old form?"

The 'Gator, as strong and fierce as I usually know him as, stops going searching the pile of orbs, ignoring one that starts rolling away into my direction before being stopped by my feet.

It is a sun orb, something that might prove particularly important to us if we are to run into a storm on our way to the ruins.

"Yes." He states blandly, even though I manage to notice concern present deep within his voice. Concern that only grows as he explains. "Whatever it was that destroyed the Terminal, it almost split the cliff in half."

Mellow remains still while I bend to pick up the Orb before continuing.

"With the weight of the entire mountain on top, the cavern has come in. You can see the crack quite clearly from the valley. And it, alongside the resulting tremors must have caused most of the damages around."

"Listen." I try to comfort him again, understanding that since my last appearance he had lost more than just a promise he had made to me a long time ago. He had lost the gift I gave him in return, and I start to understand that he thinks of it as punishment.

The Feraligatr remains still for another few moments before slowly starting to decide on a set of orbs before packing them into his own bag he had set down next to mine.

"I'm sure that if we get the Terminal back, I can figure out how to construct another one of the devices." I explain as he turns around, sliming cheerfully and softly, only to be ignored by the Water Type. "Heck: there might even be another chamber just like your old one right under our noses. - And I can find out once we get there."

Mellow seems to remain unimpressed as he finishes up by stuffing my bag with a paw full of the wrinkled berries from a desk I already saw on my way from the door.

Standing up and carelessly dropping Treek's bag in front of my feet, he passes by before responding. "If that's the case, we should literally stop wasting my time, because every second passing is another we lose doing something actually productive."

Carefully dropping the Sun Orb into the bag and grabbing it to follow the Feraligatr already on his way to the door, I holster the leathery container and straighten my hat like I usually do.

I feel sorry for him. After living more than his share in a world of wonder such as this one, never having to fear for his life or that of any relatives long dead by natural causes, he is faced with own demise being away mere moments when compared against the time he already got to life for.

It was the ancients, the builders of this world beyond the reach of what they originally called their own. It was their greatest achievement, having designed it as the haven of knowledge it grew to be for those that came after them.

But their technology, as powerful and impressive as it was couldn't save them either. They knew how to live for eternities. Hundreds of thousands of year thanks to their technology. But life itself isn't something one can create, or take for oneself. Live is only something that can be gifted, rationed and to some extend reclaimed.

Mellow continues to walk ahead of me as we pass through the destroyed entrance hall again, causing me to pass another look where the balcony oversees the valley below, to notice a harmless cloud throwing its shadow over the slope of another mountain on the other side.

As far as I understand the device that kept Mellow alive, it was designed to ration his energy whenever he was near, extending his sleeps and allowing him to snooze for centuries at a time, collecting and returning whatever could be reclaimed of his life-force as time went on.

There is no way of knowing for sure how old Mellow is as far as his body is concerned, especially considering that it's not something I believe him to want to take about. But what I can be sure of, is that 'mons such as him and I didn't evolve with the goal of keeping our life to ourselves, instead choosing to share that energy with what gives us our strength, mind, sentience and emotions. - Our cores.

"I know how it must feel for you." I begin after passing over the steps and through the grass, just as Mellow arrives at the temple's gate first, not stopping to wait for me before pressing his paw against the flat stone and closing his eyes to concentrate.

The smooth sandstone begins to fade, waving in lines before the Water Type takes his paw off when a brick building standing on the opposite side of a cobblestone street appears. The sky is dark and covered with clouds and I instantly feel a rush of cold air fighting the warmth of the comfortable environment still surrounding me, followed a fight between temperatures breaking loose when the cold wind starts howling its welcome to us from beyond the gate.

Wherever it is that the ruins lie, Mellow didn't exaggerate when mentioning it being high up north. Yet considering that it is too late to turn back now, as well as the fact that the Feraligatr has finally decided to stop and wait just before stepping through and now blocking my view of the brick house behind him, I am forced to follow after shivering momentarily and having little to no time for preparing my ember for what is really about to come.


	89. The Friend that waited

I often wonder if the library has always been what it is now. - A deserted world of wonder bordering against the straight up unfathomable. But it quickly becomes clear to me that this small, abandoned building standing atop a cliff bordering the great ocean falls under the category of unimpressive, almost making me wonder why the ancients chose to construct something so ordinary when compared to the majesty of something like the tower of sky I woke up in this morning.

Feeling somewhat reminded of a certain other town, my mind instantly begins pointing out the differences to Lamborgy, most notably that the fishermon's town featured more than a single building, none of which were made out of brick. Yet I can't help but get the tingling sensation of being at home. - That this was just another day of me buying supplies while the kids are waiting for my return at a safe distance, the plan of living our lives in hiding so normal to them, as a cup of berry juice in the morning is to those still capable of affording it.

"How would you know how it feels?" Mellow asks against the wind holding the upper hand against the heat flowing through the gate, the feeling of cold settling in as I start flaring my ember, trying to keep it busy by making sure not to melt a thin layer of icy snow covering the ground around me.

Living a considerable portion of my life in the outer reaches of the northern hemisphere, I've developed a quite effective set of techniques for dealing with cold weather, as well the despicable liquid in its solid form. Yet not having noticed the snow when I stepped through the gate a moment ago, I feel the rush of more cold air from behind when the flow of the temple's warmth disappears, alongside the accompanying rays of sunlight.

"I had to face death more often than I'd like to admit!" I shout over the wind blowing against me, responding to the Water Type's question who already started leading the way towards the ruins he had discovered the second Terminal in.

"I'm not afraid of death." He answers after I close the gap between me and his steady pacing by a few meters. "I didn't accept the offer you made me all those centuries ago because I didn't want to face it. As a matter of fact: for most of my childhood on the other side of the river, I would have rejected your offer no matter how great the reward might seem to the oblivious mind."

"Then what changed?" I ask, the wind fighting against me swallowing the words and forcing me to repeat them after fully catching up.

"I guess I've never told you. - How we; well: Tokaru and I, met."

We leave behind the brick house next to the cobblestone street slowly turning into a dirt road, the Feraligatr continuing to follow it curving into a forest absorbing some of the wind before he beings explaining what lead him to this very moment.

-

I was orphaned at birth, never having known my real parent, but instead was raised by a foster family. Growing up with four brothers and six sisters, all simultaneously fighting for what little attention our foster mother, an Espeon, could offer, I learned first-hand that one has to make their own luck, with good things never coming to those who'd wait patiently.

It was before the great war fully broke out and what would later become the four nations of Zatola, Dararu, Korana and Sazari were still just factions opposing each other.

But high tensions could not be denied. And while me, a playful Totodile, neither understood, nor cared then, my father, an Umbreon, did not see a future as bright as my mother kept promising. Telling us tales of great heroes saving the world from evils that never stood a chance of bringing their twisted plans to fruition.

Yet whenever my father was around, his stories didn't paint the world as a picture remotely as pretty as those of my mother's.

He said that the world only takes, doing so whenever you give it the chance to, before laughing at your failures after striking you down and leaving you to die, never to spin its wheel of fate again, or to return and be left with the shortest straw again.

He spoke of great evils longing for nothing but power. Evils that no amount of hope in good could defeat. Evils that none of my mother's heroes could defeat even if they were more than just the imaginary characters of her stories.

The two of them never agreed on a united point of view, something I sometimes wonder they may have been done on purpose, as it left me with a very healthy ability of making the right decision. Because they gave me the gift of a critical mind.

-

"Cyder?" Mellow asks, abruptly interrupting his story and stopping in the middle of the road which has degraded to nothing but a few specks of gravel separated by increasingly longer blades of grass.

"What?" I respond, the wind having picked up and howling as strong as ever, fighting the sound of my voice needing to travel against the stream.

"I can feel a storm coming up." Mellow begins warning me. "I don't think we'll make it to the ruins before it gets here, but I remember passing a shed last time. - It should be close enough if we hurry, and we should be able to wait out the storm there."

Nodding and stating my response, I begin opening my bag. "If that doesn't work, I picked up the Sun Orb back at the temple!"

Checking to see if it was still there, Mellow explains. "Don't try to save it for later. It won't do much this far north, but it should buy us some time to make it there safely."

Nodding again in response, I set down the bag onto the snow covered ground and proceed by taking out the Orb that would grant us the necessary time.

One of the bigger variants, it feels warm to the touch. Though I know that the heat that can be felt does not originate from the energy inside, but instead is a mere reflection of what my paws radiate when my half-numb fingers begin searching for the trigger on the bottom.

Finally locating the mechanism and managing to activate it, the heat increases quickly, no longer being the mere mirror of my own.

A light starts appearing inside, first shimmering weakly before growing brighter and brighter into a white ball of heat and light, held captive by the sphere of glass surrounding it.

I close my eyes to not be blinded by the immense brightness only comparable to that of the sun hiding behind the clouds, to be seen again in a few moments when Orb will have fully activated.

I follow the shine on my retinas and watch it escape the glass to begin its travel into the clouds.

Slowly opening them again, the energy having been freed and on its way, the sight of my body's intense shadow, cast beneath me in light of the brightly shining orb quickly reaching the barrier of clouds, frightens me for a moment.

~ Thunder ~

The sky vibrates as weather itself attempts to fight the intrusion forcing its will upon it, but inevitably losing the battle of who would be in charge when the layer of clouds retreats to reveal the sun hiding behind as expected.

The wind remains and the leaves in the trees around rustle wildly when Mellow starts talking again. "The Orb won't last long, and it won't stand any chances once the storm arrives, so we need to move."

Making headway, The Water Type continues leading me along the barely recognizable path when he seems to calm down and continues recalling where he left off after passing an old Oak tree towering dangerously close to the edge of a cliff traveling alongside us.

-

Just like today, all good had to come to an end then too, when one day my father didn't come home. Mother was worried in a way completely foreign to me and all of my siblings.

It was early afternoon when she started behaving unusual. Long before the time my dad had come home for the previous couple of months, generally returning just as the sun was setting, it became even more apparent when she refused to tell us a story before it was time for me and the others to take our afternoon nap.

I never enjoyed sleeping in the middle of the day, but somehow the sweet and soft voice of my mother was a kind of magic none of us could resist the temptation of.

But it was all different that day. Despite the house being even more quiet than when all of us were really asleep, there was no sleep to be had for anyone when our only source of optimism refused to offer us the gift we had always taken for granted.

Whispering with each other about possible explanations of our mother's actions, no answer had become clear when she returned a few hours later, just as preoccupied and worried as when she put us to rest.

Early evening, the time my father would return the soonest was closing in when me and my siblings were allowed outside again, to spend the time to our own liking until dinner would be held when the Umbreon arrived.

Normally, it was my favorite time of day. Freshly rested and full of energy, there was a pond in the backyard that me and the other Water Types, two Mudkip siblings named Merrilin and Monroe, as well as a Lotad named Dennis, would always fight for control over.

But that day, I decided not to join their fun, but await our father's arrival sitting between the long blades of grass alongside the road leading up to our house.

Neither my mother, nor my dad cared enough to keep the front yard in good condition themselves, usually leaving the job of doing so up to a lottery that me and Dennis too often seemed to win, before groaningly we would do as little as possible and spend the most time playing hide and go seek between the blades of grass we were supposed to trim, that evening hiding my presence instead.

I never knew what is was my father did for a living until that day. And even if I had, I know I wouldn't have cared, spending my childhood to its fullest and making big plans of how one day I would have a wife and kids of my own. Kids just as happy and playful as I knew I was always going to be, with the love of my life still to be met, just as optimistic as my mother continues to remain in my head to this day.

The sun had begun to set and with no shapes appearing at the end of the road leading up to our estate of quite considerable proportion, my eyes began to grow heavy.

Some part of me must have realized what was to come, when neither my hunger, nor the fear of being scolded for not returning home before sundown the next morning managed to wake me, after peacefully finding a comfortable position lying on my stomach.

-

"I can only tell you what happened next from what I've been told." Mellow explains as he climbs a steep slope before turning around to offer unnecessary help in case I couldn't follow.

"Because when I woke up, I was no longer surrounded by the blissful calm of nature and its peacefully waving blades of grass, and the green that had surrounded me was nowhere to be seen."

-

It is possible that the blast managed to wake me. More than likely even, considering I often find myself reliving the moment in my nightmares. But immediate access to whatever memories I may have about the event has been lost to the fear it imprinted on me.

When I do remember waking up, I found myself somewhere I've never been to before, a ginormous creature I later learned to be a particular Charizard leaning over me a bed of straw I had been situated in. Yet I felt no fear when he started speaking to me softly.

"It's ok, Mellow." He said to me, somehow knowing my name without ever having to introduce myself to him. "You're safe now. - No harm will come to you."

'Harm.' I remember wondering after hearing the word ring in my ears, when a quick check-up on what he may have been referring to informs me of searing pain of burns covering my head, arms, legs and back.

Lying down in the grass, my soft and volatile Totodile torso had remained mostly unharmed, potentially saving my life in the process.

-

"It was Tokaru that had found me where I had fallen asleep. And it was him who brought me to safety."

"As he later explained to me, and contrary to what I continue to believe happened that night, my father supposedly did come home that day. Working as a close advisor of Tokaru, he always had the right of calling out the darkness of the world, being one to see its evil first handed."

"Tokaru claimed that the Umbreon had been brainwashed to return home that day and commit suicide to end himself, the life he had built and all those he had built it alongside of. It was meant to send a message to all of the Holder's followers that had families of their own. To teach them that in fighting for their solution, they themselves had become the target of all the hate and growing greed of knowledge about things such as Orbs, which Tokaru continued to use for our advantage. - Yet their actions lead to something different when they created the Mellow I continue to remain until today."

Looking up as Mellow pauses for a moment, I no longer see the clear sky previously brought forth by the sun orb, but instead a dark and clouded horizon, rapidly filling with more black pillows filled with needles heading towards us.

Luckily though, when looking ahead I see the promised shed. Made out of wood and covered in the same thin layer of snow as the rest of the world, I would be safe from weather's wrath in but a couple of moments.

"I swore to myself, never to forget what my mother thought me. - Never to do as my father did when ignoring the good of the world. Never to see it for nothing but the dark and grim place he never learned to look past. I swore to honor my gifts and do whatever it takes to allow as many other 'mons as possible to see that hope as I had been allowed to."

Mellow reaches for the door to the wooden shed, opening it while a pair of rusted metal hinges squeak alongside the motion, alongside the wooden walls making their presence known by rattling against the wind threatening to rip them out of the ground if they'd dare to continue being the nuisance they are to it now.

I hastily follow after the Water Type, propelled by a single needle landing on my neck, before the door quickly closes behind me to lock out what nature had intended to stop us.

"I pledged my allegiance to Tokaru." The Water Type states, staring at me with nothing but determination in his eyes. "I chose to honor the legacy my father left behind by taking his place. I spend the rest of my childhood and most of my youth growing up evolving twice under the close eyes and personal supervision of Tokaru himself. Training me for what I had chosen as my future, in the process creating a bond lasting longer than even he; you may have expected, or even deemed possible."


	90. Theory

The wooden walls creak as the wind howls through the gaps and holes covering them.

Occasionally I dare looking through one of them, only to see the sky and stars above. The height of the storm has passed, and all that remains is the never-ending wind pushing against the land.

Looking at the distant, shining orbs spread across, they differ from how they appear across the river. Formations appear a distorted, forming new ones in the process. Some stars shine brighter than they do at home, while entire clusters can barely be made out at all.

Turning away from the crack I was looking through when a gust of cold wind discourages me, my eyes fall on Mellow resting half a meter away from me in front of the door.

When trying to keep it closed before, the handle broke off, forcing him to stay in front of it, keeping it closed by using his own body.

After arriving we ate and talked. - We talked a lot as a matter of fact.

I told him of my experiences during what I perceived as only a couple of weeks, spending most of the time that had passed inside the dungeon.

He didn't believe my explanation of what Treek and I experienced at first, and I think he still considers me crazy for believing it in the first place.

-

"You're telling me that you managed to do what the ancients tried until no one was left to continue the experiments? You're saying you traveled through time on accident?" Mellow states, amused when the force of the wind rattling outside distracts him and silences his laughter.

"I know there must be more to it than that." I try to defend myself, not admitting that I had believed it to actually be an appropriate explanation until this point. "I'm just saying it how it felt like."

"Good." Mellow responds, deciding not to lean against a wooden beam bending with the wind. "Because if you actually believed that, it would definitely narrow down you lost your sanity."

"I..." I begin stuttering before getting interrupted by the Water Type.

"I'm just joking." Mellow says, preventing me from admitting to honestly having considered it.

"But that bag of yours." He begins asking me again a few moments later. "You say you lost it in the library?"

Taking a look at Treek's standing next to his before not waiting for me to respond, the Feraligatr continues. "Because I'm pretty sure a couple of years have passed since you've last been here. Plus: it's not like the river gate leads anywhere close to what you described as having lost it at."

"I'm serious." I interrupt Mellow, causing him to stop giggling about the recklessness.

"I know the gate at the temple is the only one I can connect to from anywhere. And the only other way to get here is to use one of the static gate, of which there are none anywhere near Kossary. I know all of these things. Let me try to explain." I continue, pausing for a moment to think about how I should even explain my theory without being interrupted again.

"This shadow..." I begin after a while. "Back in the tower wasn't the first time I saw it. We met before when I lost my bag. And ever since then it's almost as if it's been following me wherever I go."

Mellow remains silent while a squall passes over the shed, whistling through the cracks in the wooden walls and causing me to inch closer towards the Luminous-Orb-powered lantern that Mellow had brought.

"At first I forgot all about the shadow, almost as though it had erased my memories of it, until I had a dream in which I saw what happened again, but through its eyes. After that, the memories returned and the shadow started showing up more and more often."

Pausing again, I quickly continue before the wind can distract me again. "You have to admit: something is endangering the Library. But what I think you don't understand is that it's not just endangering this world."

"I've mentioned them before, but the appearance of Mystery Dungeons must somehow be connected to the library. - And I mean this literally: they aren't just appearing because of whatever it happening here, they are part of the library, but filled with dangerous, mindless and hostile ferals instead of the rare wildlife more scared of you one might encounter here."

Pausing for a moment to think, Mellow takes the chance to interrupt me. "How can you be sure?"

"They follow the same rules." I try to explain. "When I was inside of one, I could feel it: they are still somehow apart of the library, but instead resemble what was there before the dungeon."

"They are capable of changing space and warping time in any way they please." I continue, recalling what had happened to me. "I witnessed a dim light flooding the sky, invisible to one of my companions, a Zorua."

"And they are filled with danger, capable of controlling the will of weak-minded creatures such as Ferals. - You have to admit: that's sounding familiar to you as well."

"It does." Mellow admits slowly. "When you put it that way, it sounds very much like the library's defenses set up to keep 'mons from accidentally wandering through the static gates. – I guess permanently being exposed to the aura they emit could drive any feral insane..."

"Exactly." I speak up as another, luckily weaker gust of wind passes by. "And they're all things that can be controlled through the Terminal."

"But the Terminal can only do that here." Mellow tries to argue. "It can only do those things inside the library."

"No. It can also do so near the other ends of the static gates." I try to convince the Water Type of my theory. "I can't be certain, but the Mystery Dungeon I stumbled into was located in Gloom Woods. – Now tell me: what else is located in the middle of the forest?"

"... The Charizard statue and the static gate connecting to crystal lake." Mellow slowly responds, remembering the gate I took my first time venturing into the library, and taking his time to think of a proper response. "But it just doesn't feel right to me..."

Taking another pause to think of his words, I listen for the storm and the rustling of leaves outside.

"It's just... It's not what it's meant to do." Mellow finally answers. "The ancients would have never designed it to do something like this. – Not with the intent of harming anything sentient or not. And the Terminal's simply not capable of affecting anything but a small radius around the gates. And other than that, it can only observe and acquire knowledge the sentient inhabitants are willing to say and share freely."

"Even though I've always stayed away from it like I promised to, I did read many books and documents about what exactly it can do. I wouldn't call myself an expert, but if there's one thing the ancients made sure of, it's that their legacy, as well as all that is encompassed by it would forever follow the same set of rules put in place by them."

"Yes..." I quickly respond, immediately wanting to state a counter argument but realizing that I don't have one to offer.

"Maybe you're right." I answer after some time passes and I begin to notice it getting dark outside. "After all: neither do I know all the static gates from memory, nor do I know the location of any other dungeons."

The lantern Mellow brought now forms the only source of light filling the room, enveloping the cold dirt floor as well as a cabinet at one point meant to house a fishing hook, but now only carrying a bucket rusted beyond use.

"Maybe I'm wrong and the Terminal has nothing to do with the Mystery Dungeons." I slowly admit. "But what about the shadow then? And what about the fact that the Terminal below the temple was destroyed, or the new one you've discovered around the same time? - I know for sure that those Dungeons are somehow connected to the library."

"You know." Mellow begins, appearing as though he hadn't even listened to my latest statement. "It's possible that what you and T... – That what you experienced in the dead lands wasn't actually time travel, but an alternate reality."

"Think about it." The Water Type continues. "You woke up back at the camp site. Time passed much more quickly and only in chunks, but all-in-all the encounter didn't take very long as far as perceived by you."

Pausing for a moment, I start to understand what the Feraligatr is getting at. "You've always stayed in very close proximity to the bag, and only what you saw changed rapidly. – And you could still feel the ground as it was before, not even able to interact with what you were seeing."

Giving both me and himself a moment to think, I start to understand what had happened from a different point of view.

"Now we must assume that your bag, whether or not it did just magically fall out of the sky remained apart of both realities at once, with time jumping erratically on one end, yet keeping a constant flow on the other."

"Perhaps because of your special position, or maybe because of sheer luck, your time continued to run at a regular pace until the connection eventually broke and put you back where you belonged."

I decide not to bring up Treek claiming to have kept some of the memories he made, one reason being that after learning of Mellow's origins, I wish not to upset him again with a reminder of him having been replaced, and secondly because when considering the possibility of another world now left to burn and be overtaken by dungeons, just because I wasn't there to safe it, feels just as unbearable as when I had the idea myself.

-

"Are you still awake, Cyder?" Mellow asks me when I realize that I hadn't managed to find any, pondering about all the theories and explanations and hoping that the Terminal could put at least some of them to rest.

"Yes." I respond, opening my eyes to see a shimmer of starlight falling through a crack behind me and be reflected by the Feraligatr's wide open eyes.

"You may not believe this..." He begins, not speaking very loud, the volume barely above whispering. "But even after waiting for close to a millennium, I never gave up the hope of seeing Tokaru again."

Pausing and sighing as a soft gust of wind outside conceals the fact, the storm that forced us to seek shelter in the shed long gone, the wind quickly settles and the Water Type continues.

"I knew that I shouldn't have expected to see him when I came looking for you, but the hope still returned the moment I saw a shape other than mine appearing in that cave entrance."

The Water Type takes another pause and his eyes begin sparkling slightly before he closes them for a few moments and continues.

"I thought I had lost that hope when I realized that your memories of me were gone. - That what you warned me might happen the last time you still remembered actually did."

"But it didn't take long before I realized that you hadn't changed at all."

Pausing yet again, I feel the urge to respond. But with no suitable words coming to mind, it is the Feraligatr who continues instead.

"You may no longer look the same. And you might not remember me anymore... You might think you're different from what I knew you as. - Having a family and raising kids this time around. And you might feel bad for making new friends along the way, even before meeting your old ones first."

"So you might not believe me when I say that you haven't changed at all. Because inside you the same heart of compassion still beats. A heart deemed worthy enough by this place of wonder to continue beating until the day that eternity would come to pass."

I feel a tear forming in my eye, brought forth by sorrow and regret of not being able to feel the connection the way the 'gator does. I might not know exactly how much he has been through. And I find it hard to grasp how a friendship as strong as ours must feel to him.

Time goes by and I continue thinking about a response, before I finally manage to state one, whispering the words silently when another gust of wind drowns them out, not even knowing if the Water Type was still awake to hear them before closing my eyes.


	91. A Child's Mind

"Mum?" a young Totodile asks, standing in the middle of a room, a wooden floor underneath him and a long table with a total of twelve chairs lined up neatly next to him.

Talking to an Espeon absentmindedly staring out of a window and down a long driveway leading up to an estate of quite admirable proportions, she doesn't seem to have noticed the intruder not daring to approach her any further, instead remaining standing a few steps behind her.

Taking her time to respond, more young creatures are huddling around the only door leading in and out of the room, a Torchic tilting her head and looking at the Psychic Type among many other such as two Mudkips anxiously looking at the lone Totodile still waiting for a response.

Slowly turning away from the window and briefly glancing at the pile of kids pressing against an invisible barrier where the door would be, none of them dare to follow the Water Type the Espeon now faces when she begins talking.

"You should enjoy yourself, Mellow." She begins, speaking in a calming voice and managing to mask whatever is plaguing her mind perfectly. "Take the others and go outside to play."

Not waiting for a response, or giving the Totodile standing way too still for such an energetic being a chance to respond, she turns away in a fluent motion, facing back out the window.

Mellow remains for another few moments, quickly glancing at the horde of his brothers and sisters still piled up against the opened door, still hoping to get another response, all he is faced with are confused faces knowing nothing more than he does.

Following the Espeon's gesture, the Water Type slowly turns on the spot, still not daring to take his eyes off of the Psychic Type he had hoped to get an explanation out of.

The group of kids quickly disperses as he reaches the door, none of them making any noise as though they were afraid of some unspoken punishment anyone daring to speak to the Espeon would be faced with.

But it is confusion that has robbed them of their playful nature, with the urge of investigation causing them to decide not to interfere.

The Psychic Type sighs silently when Mellow, the one who had dared to enter her domain, remains in the door for another few moments, his brothers and sisters already gone to head for the back yard as instructed to.

He doesn't notice her gesture and while a strong urge to follow after the others still beats in his heart, there is another idea that remains manifested inside his mind.

He doesn't know what it is. He doesn't understand, or know what it is trying to tell him. But he still doesn't wish to object the request of his foster mother, the Espeon. Yet the idea somehow implanted in his mind sticks, not leaving him alone as he absentmindedly waddles down a narrow hallway leading towards a back door.

Heading after the others, nothing drives him more than the urge to understand his own thoughts. Yet stepping outside and arriving in a field of grass, the answer continues to remain hidden when his eyes fall on a pond he had failed to claim after being too slow to arrive, the memories of all the times he had been fast enough to take the watering hole as price rushing back. But they fail to compel him into joining the action, instead opting to solve the mystery.

No eyes are directed at him, and all of his siblings are hard at play, chasing each other while a Piplup has claimed the pond to itself, now in the process of fending of a beam of bubbles send its way by a pair of Mudkips.

Mellow continues around the corner of the house, noticing his sister Matlin, a Ralts, hiding behind a tree and out of sight of Kevin, an Aron, who scans the terrain in her vicinity.

The Totodile on the other paw keeps to himself, deciding to walk along the side of the house, past the room he and his siblings had taken a sleepless rest inside of only a couple of hours ago, before realizing his goal of reaching someplace he could be alone with his thoughts.

The Espeon remains standing by the window, staring outside and pondering her own thoughts.

Awaiting the arrival of her husband, she knows that he isn't destined to arrive for many more hours, her mind in fear of when the time would come.

She knows what she had done when she slipped to grant the young, impressionable Totodile insight into her own thoughts. - A single moment of giving in to her innermost fears and worries, sharing them with a mind neither prepared, nor capable of handling them.

There may have been some part of the Psychic Type that caused her to do it on purpose. But despite the fact that she may have taken the child's joy of playing with the others, none of the worries plaguing her mind interfering with theirs, she tries to deny the fact that she knew exactly what she was doing when in fact she did.

Married to an Umbreon working a dangerous job, she never cared about what exactly he did. He was a good 'mon with nothing but pure intentions filling his heart. - A rough and strongminded creature on the outside, his mind impenetrable to her always intrigued her, guarding nothing but the compassion they feel for each other and the batch of kids they decided to raise after learning that they would never be able to spawn their own.

The Umbreon however had changed over the last couple of weeks. No longer was he the caring father and loving husband she'd come to know him as. No longer was his return home the height of her day, and whenever he was present, he ignored her and acted as though she wasn't there.

This went on a couple of weeks, her worries starting to grow. - She tried to talk to him, but the Dark Type always dismissed her requested, stating that she was just imagining things.

Last night however, she dared to do what she hadn't tried since the times they met, when she attempted to enter his mind.

She didn't understand the reason of her success at first, wondering how her powers could possibly have any effect on a Dark Type. But after diverting the few barriers still there and posing no obstacle to her, she ventured deeper into his mind than she ever thought possible, and came to see what was once the 'mon she fell in love with, had become nothing but a mindless puppet.

With fear coursing through her veins, she escaped from the empty halls of a castle that was once the mind of her lover, the great walls once surrounding it crumbled to a mere fence, and taking with her only the knowledge of what he had become and what he had been destined to do by the great evil that did what no other psychic would think feasible.

Never before was she this torn apart, wanting to stop the Umbreon's plan from coming to fruition, but at the same time not believing that what she saw could be real and neither wanting to hurt him.

Staring out of the window, she notices some grasses moving further down the driveway, but even before noticing them, she had already felt the presence of Mellow, driven by knowledge she had bestowed upon him.

'There is no way.' She thinks to herself, looking at the horizon where the 'mon in question would appear in but a couple of hours once the sun would begin to set.

'No... way...'

She sighs again.

-

A bright light blinds be and I get ripped out of my dreams, rubbing my eyes as the light quickly diminishes to a more bearable brightness before revealing Mellow handling the lantern.

"Sorry." He apologizes after noticing my movement. "I didn't mean to wake you. - It's just this stupid lever."

He wiggles a lever on the side of the lantern for a few moments, the brightness of the light changing as he does so.

"It's OK." I respond, rubbing my eyes again, still remembering my dream before noticing sunlight falling through the crack I had been watching the stars through the night before.

Looking up and away from the crack to watch Mellow beginning to distribute more of the wrinkled old, but still surprisingly juicy berries between the two wooden bowl we had already eaten from last, not even the wind can be heard, and the storm has passed completely.

"Mellow?" I ask him just before he finishes filling the bowls, causing him to stop and listen.

"You are my friend." I state expressively, causing the Water Type to turn and stare back at me. "And I'm sure there's never been a time you weren't."

Mellow, instead of answering verbally, responds my smiling and handing me a bowl which I graciously accept.

Slowly looking away from the Feraligatr as he begins eating his batch while I only stare at mine, a few moments pass before I decide to bring up my dream.

"I had a dream about what it must have been like last night." I begin slowly, not considering the fact that Mellow has no idea what it is I'm referring to.

"What it must have been like for you..." I explain before pausing.

The sounds of the 'gator chewing berries slow down as I begin explaining. "Did you ever learn who was responsible for the events that, as you put it, created you?"

A few memory pass and after the sound of swallowing passes, the silence is broken. "I did..." Mellow slowly states, before he wastes no time and resumes eating his berries before abruptly halting again.

"I did many things that I'm still proud of today. Many times that I chose what was just over what was right or wrong. - I promised myself not to act any different then, and it is the only promise I ever broke when not doing what was just, but what was my right."

Not looking at my bowl of berries still full, Mellow sets his aside after finishing up.

"We should get going." He states as I notice the pile of food still waiting for consumption, causing me to quickly stuff my mouth, emptying the bowl half-way before Mellow notices and decides to wait for another few moments until I can talk again.

"You know: I've got a pretty thick skin." He begins, packing his bowl into his bag while I realize that too much food in your mouth only makes it harder to chew.

"And magical, ancient bed or not, no one's going to tell me when to leave other any me."

'It's not magic.' I think to myself, still barely able to manage my mouth stuffed with too many berries, before the Water Type continues unfazed.

"You don't have to wait for me. So if you want, you can eat the rest along the way. – The weather seems good, and we've still got a way's ahead of us."


	92. Worries

"What even made you go to the ruins in the first place?" I ask Mellow, grabbing the last of my berries out of the bowl.

The shed we had spent the night in slowly fading in a mist the morning came with, I follow the Water Type as he leads the way towards the underground complex not reachable through its broken sector gate.

"I had never been there before." The Feraligatr begins explaining, turning around for a moment and looking as though he had forgotten I was following him. "I had the feeling there was something around here, yet being this out of the way, it never seemed interesting until a passage in a book stored at the archive of Palm Valley mentioned it as a long-term storage for things the ancients didn't know where else to put."

Scanning the ground to relocate the barely visible path, Mellow stops momentarily while I spend the time looking down the cliff still at our sides.

I can hear the surges of waves crashing against the rock down below, but the dense morning fog makes it impossible to see the ocean before Mellows faded voice informs me about the fact that he went on without me.

"At first I forgot about it and a couple of weeks passed and the time for me to go to sleep again would be soon, but my spiked interest after remembering what I read, as well as a failure to connect to the gate described by the document, I was convinced to journey there on foot, just as we are now."

Feeling as though the fog is starting to lift, I continue following closely after Mellow, wanting to listen intently despite my mind still set on our discussion the evening before.

"Say, what are you planning on doing if we find the Terminal? You were unconscious from fatigue when I found you, and you still haven't mentioned anything about what happened."

I had almost forgotten about having to deal with getting back, Mellow reminding me of the fact that an army of soldiers is waiting for my return sends a shiver through my spine.

'What if the Terminal isn't even there?' I think to myself, knowing full well that without it I'd have no way of learning anything about the situation I'd find myself back in eventually.

The fog having started to dissipate during the last couple of minutes begins to reveal new shapes differing from the trees and occasional sight of the cliff bordering the rarely travelled path.

"I don't know if I've already mentioned it." I finally begin, grabbing Mellows attention who appears to have already forgotten asking me about it in the first place. "But I've left in quite a hurry when I came here, and there may even be a chance that I'll get captured the moment I go back."

"How so?" Mellow responds, not understanding my concerns while spotting the same outlines of what appears as a tower at least ten meters high and surrounded by a crumbling wall, slowly appearing out of the mist. "I thought you couldn't connect when you're in danger, or being forced to."

"So I've been told." I respond, knowing full well that I shouldn't have even tried to, and much less succeeded in doing so. "I'm not really sure how I managed, but seeing as how I'm here, I think I'm starting to worry about how to get back safely."

Stopping again and facing me, Mellow looks at me with shared concern before trying to better my mood.

"You're worried we're not going to find what we came here looking for." The crumbling tower built from dark gray bricks, stones almost a meter in diameter towers behind him. "I've wondered about the same thing, but I'm sure that whatever it is that's waiting for us below, it'll be worth it for at least one of us."

Turning away once again, my mind trying to remember details of my escape I hadn't yet noticed as the ever diminishing gap between Mellow and a gap in the wall stretching away from the tower shrinks, Mellow continues talking as I slowly follow him without really listening.

"Besides: we've had this conversation before, and you're just assuming your own interpretation of the rules again. - The rules state quite clearly that you can't bridge the river when in danger, or being forced to."

I know what the Feraligatr means, yet feeling like I should be the one to understand the library better than him, I interrupt the Water Type before he can finish his thought.

"I told you before that it wouldn't make sense for the library to decide what should constitute as me being in danger. - It would require too much intricate knowledge of things that an automated system such as the one at play couldn't possibly comprehend. Unspoken secrets and hidden agendas. –The things controlling the intentions of everyone."

"Whatever." Mellow disregards my argument the same way he did the last time I brought it up before arriving and leaning against the wall as the waits for me to catch up. "You'll have to admit that's not what we came here for."

I arrive as my wandering eyes fall on the gate that had once connected this sector to the rest of the library.

A second tower, identical to the one still standing beside Mellow once towered opposite of the gap in the wall, I now begin to recognize as a collapsed entrance. The base still standing, during its fall the tower had collided with the arch of the gate located just outside the wall, taking out a good chunk of the device and leaving the control circuitry hidden within its base bluntly ripped apart and exposed to nature, the sharp edges of its crystals long dulled by the passing wind and weather.

"Are we going to head inside, or are you going to stare at that thing forever?" Mellow states, not really asking a question but anxiously stating his opinion as I notice that I really had yet to move a muscle since starting to inspect the device's remains.

"Yeah." I respond, quickly fixing my mistake and turning away from relict broken centuries ago, shaking away the thought of this being what would eventually happen to everything the ancients left behind for be to guard and pass down to the generations, the Terminal and greatest of all their gifts now broken, leaving me to journey in hopes of finding its unlikely duplicate.

Mellow steps through the gap in the wall first before I follow closely when a cold gust of wind hits my neck, causing another shiver that sends me into an overgrown garden hidden behind. Broken in many more places than just the entrance, the garden surrounds a caved in structure somewhat resembling the temple the age old Water Type calls his home.

There are many differences and the 'gator in question doesn't even seem to notice, his mind set on the building's entrance designated by two pillars leaning against each other to continue carrying the weight of its roof.

"Have you even wondered what will happen when all that the ancients left behind succumbs to the destructive forces of time?" I wonder out loudly, slowly heading after Mellow already a few meters ahead of me again. "With no one there to repair what breaks, everything we do or use takes away from something I might know how to replace, but neither have the renewable resources, nor time to do indefinitely."

"What is it with you today, Cyder?" Mellow speaks up, almost interrupting me if I hadn't already finish my thought. "Sure: what you say might be so. But you know there are a lot of things scattering the landscape that were constructed after their legacy was placed in your paws. - You may no longer remember who constructed them, maybe even used them for shelter. But you can't deny the fact that the library and what it stands for is here to stay."

"It's just..." I begin, wanting to mention the fact that with the loss of my memories, alongside the destruction of the Terminal, knowledge I was meant to guard may have been lost for all eternity. Yet before I can finish, the Water Type interrupts me again, almost starting to sound a bit angry about my constant bickering.

"Will you just stop?" He asks, almost on the verge of shouting. "If there's something that's bothering you, just say it. And if you'd rather keep it to yourself, we have some catacombs to explore."

Turning to head for the pillars leaning against each other, I notice that I had mindlessly been following the 'gator through the entirety of the garden surrounding the structure still managing to remind me the first thing I get to see whenever entering the library through normal means.

Somewhat reluctantly following, I realize that despite all the superficial problems my mind had been coming up since morning, the thing still bothering me most are Mellow's origins, as well as my dream during this short lived night.

The mentioning of the night's length making my head hurt, and seeing how the Water Type is already inside and navigating around some fallen parts of the ceiling, on his way to what can only be the entrance to the promised labyrinth below, I shake my head, take a deep breath of fresh air before deciding to put my worries aside, and quickly head after him as not get separated before even getting started.

Without any sunlight ever reaching the stone floor, it only takes a few steps before my paws start cooling down. Yet I notice a beam of light falling though the broken roof, hitting the surface of a frozen puddle, accompanied by the sound of dripping water echoing from the distance and a direction I can't make out.

Arriving at Mellow's side, I apologize for my behavior before he does the same while unpacking his lantern again, stating that he should be more considerate of my unique situation as well.

"Anyways. - It'll be dark down there..." Be begins after a moment of silence only accompanied by the dripping water, before accidentally blinding me again when activating the Luminous Orb powering the lantern, the rusted lever controlling its intensity jamming again. "And if the cold air up here already gets you trembling, I suggest firing up your core now if you haven't already."

Following his advice, I concentrate for a moment and listen for the warmth within. To let it envelop me, join me and most importantly stay by my side during the whatever is about to come.

Having closed my eyes, I notice a yellow light reflect from the surface of another frozen puddle and originating from a bundle of flames now slowly receding into my back, to stay there and keep me warm.

"Then let's go." Mellow exclaims, his voice joining the echo of the dripping water before being first to excitedly head down a somewhat familiar set of stairs leading into the ruins below, as I reluctantly follow.


	93. Catacombs

It feels as though the air has dropped by another ten degrees, getting colder with every step I take, following after the Water Type whose resistance against to the cold manages to surprise me despite the fact that his Liquid Core would allow him to withstand much more.

Walking in his shadow, the light of the 'gator's lantern reflecting of a puddle that has collected at the base of the staircase leading into a doorframe missing its accompanying door, the sound of dripping water grows closers before I notice a trickle of drops flowing down the wall to my left, rhythmically falling a dozen centimeters into the forming lake below.

"' Guess this place got hit by the storm last night." Mellow states, taking no precaution and stepping into the water, stirring the liquid before heading through the open frame where he stops to wait for me.

Arriving at the second to last step, I decide not to mirror the Water Type's actions but instead leap over the floor and through the frame blocking the flow of water from reaching its other side.

The walls are made out of dark cobblestone, huge indents running alongside them, with the light of the lantern shining past and creating large pockets of darkness all along to create the image of large, ever-changing cracks running along.

Having made the leap without problems, we find ourselves in what appears to be a larger room, and I can immediately confirm Mellows original statements of this being an old warehouse for various assortments of artifacts. Long rows of racks separate the room into small corridors, but I fail to see any pattern to their arrangement randomly placed throughout.

Despite the Water Type's exaggerations of there being nothing but strange and mysterious device located down here, I immediately manage to recognize some of the things around, such as a device used for cartography of land holding down a stack of maps it was probably used to create, as well as a box of rolled up newspapers I may have even put there myself at some point.

My eyes drag along the shelves and I quickly inspect the entirety of the room before locating two corridors connecting to more of the labyrinth, one straight to the left of us, and reaching straight until curving left again, the light of Mellows lantern waving and barely managing to reach its end as he gets his own bearings, and the other hiding ahead on the other side of the room, behind what appears to be three additional rows of racks turning the room into a labyrinth of its own.

"What's wrong?" I ask after noticing Mellow's concerned expression doesn't match his usual upbeat demeanor.

"We are..." He answers before getting interrupted by a loud screech echoing throughout the entire complex, bringing alongside another wave of icy wind, the shock of which almost manages to cool my ember.

Sounding as though it had come from the hallway towards the left of us, both Mellow and I stare down the shaft expecting to see something when the ground starts shaking.

Before I know what had happened, I succumb to its force and fall on my face, the hard and cool stone floor sending a sharp, but thankfully short burst of pain through my scull.

Looking up, I come to realize the cause of the tremor was a wall that has moved into place where the entrance used to be, cutting off our escape route and trapping us inside.

"Au..." I slowly state as the shaking subsides, carefully lifting my own weight of the floor while rubbing my head as the realization of what happened settles in.

"Did you knew this would happen?" I ask the Water Type carefully extending his paw to confirm the solidity of the new wall before turning towards me.

"No." Mellow states sheepishly before quickly changing subject. "This wasn't supposed to happen. But it could be a problem..."

"You think?" I interrupt and antagonize the Water Type, not realizing his sincere concern while still busy with my throbbing head, carefully padding it with a paw to check for blood I luckily fail to find.

"Sorry." I apologize a moment later. "I don't know why this place decided to lock us in, or even has the ability to, but it did." And rubbing my still aching forehead, I silently add "And now my head hurts..."

But realizing the concern still present in Mellow's voice, I begin to listen.

"That's not what I'm concerned about, but nothing of the sorts happened last time I went down here. – Believe me, I had no idea this would happen."

"Maybe you just don't remember?" I ask, not daring to speak up against the confused Water Type on the verge of shouting, not understanding his problem if there even is one.

"This is how I came here last time, but I don't even remember this room."

"What?" I ask out loudly, before another screech, this time not as loud as before frightens me, my mind already expecting the ground to start shaking again as I quickly drop to all fours as not to hit my head again when it would.

Mellow remains standing still, and not appearing as though he expects another tremor the way I do, he takes a few steps past me and towards the tunnel both screeches had come from so far.

"I don't know what that sound is, or why we're not where I've entered the underground last time..." He explains while I calm down and stop expecting another tremor, before turning around to lend me a paw for getting up that I refuse to take and quickly get back on my feet by myself.

"I don't think we should stick around until whatever makes those sounds finds us." Mellow states while turning back towards the tunnel left of us, narrowing his eyes and holding the lantern in front of him.

"You think a feral has wandered down here?" I ask, considering how few there are in the library and not thinking of the much more likely possibility.

"No." Mellow responds and I realize the stupidity of my statement. "I'm thinking of something far more dangerous to me. – And you."

Realizing my stupidity and slowly starting to move again, I follow the Water Type as he starts heading down the tunnel, the bright light of the Luminous Orb powering the lantern reflecting of the walls while I consider what the Feraligatr had said.

"You mentioned that you first read about this place in the archive by Palm Valley." I begin thinking out loud as we near a corner. "What exactly did it say about this place?"

"It mentioned it as a place of great power and importance, among other things listing its huge assortment of items scattered throughout its underground where most of it is located at."

"It spoke of the architecture of some of its rather enormous rooms, describing the appearance of some of them before going into further detail on some of the things that are supposedly written down in the books here. - It was a long list describing too many things for me to remember, from books about the elemental cores to cooking recipes for berries."

I raise my eyebrow for a moment, but remain listening intently as we turn around the corner to find the path taking another sharp turn left and connect with a set of stairs carved directly into the stone leading further below.

A cold gust of air strokes my back and causes me to spin around anxiously, only to find nothing before turning back to head after the Water Type already half way down the stairs, my heart still beating heavily.

"I guess it didn't mention anything about a trap at the entrance?" I inquire, wondering what is going through Mellow's mind.

"No." He quickly responds as I hurry to keep up with him and the lantern, trying not to stumble over my own feet and arrive at the bottom faster than I'd like to. "It didn't say anything about that, nor the fact that there's apparently another terminal down here."

"There were some pages missing though, including some from the inventory list, but since the list wasn't sorted I can't tell you what may have been written on those pages."

"Hm..." I wonder as I arrive at the bottom of the stair case, only to blindly step into a puddle of freezing water, causing me to leap forward in shock, luckily landing in a dry spot.

The water stings and continues to do so even as I narrow my eyes and clench my teeth while grabbing ahold of the wet paws, heating up them and the rest of my body to evaporate the liquid as fast as possible, before it could do me any more harm.

"Sorry." Mellow apologizes, noticing my pain and what had happened before setting down the lantern on a dresser missing its drawers standing alone in the middle of the otherwise, and except for some more puddles, empty room.

"It's not your fault." I respond, trying to hide the pain slowly subsiding. "I didn't pay enough attention."

Still busy with my hurting paws, the screeching noise repeats itself, causing Mellow to look up and through a doorframe leading into a neighboring room while I momentarily forget about my paws and look after him to see just as little as he does through the darkness.

"Have you ever heard something like it?" Mellow asks as the sound subsides again, only to be replaced with the silence of slowly dripping water hitting the surface of a puddle echoing from somewhere in the distance.

"I was just about to ask the same thing." I respond, overcoming my aching paws and pushing myself from the ground to grab the lantern before deciding to lead the Water Type, hopefully getting myself to start paying more attention to my surroundings.


	94. Mincara

Carefully stepping through the doorway opposite of the puddle who's remains, collected in the tuft around my ankles, continue to sting the skin underneath, I hold up the lantern to illuminate a large room square in shape.

Mellow follows closely after, but I fail to notice as the light starts revealing what we have stepped into. Standing before of a railing, an enclosed courtyard lies below, surrounded by an upper walkway wrapping around what appears to be an open area stretching across two levels, a flight of stairs across the room connecting the floors.

In the center, a set of benches stand in knee-deep water, surrounding an enclosed box of dirt with what was once a full tree now nothing more than a decayed branch sticking out of the frozen ground.

Staring at a bench next to the tree I can't shake the feeling as if I recognize the place, feeling as though I had been here before, sitting on that exact bench and enjoying a bright light shining from above.

And looking at the ceiling, I find the start of a rounded shaft covered by a sort of disk consisting of eight individual steel plates coming together to from a cover meant to keep out the weather by automatically closing whenever a storm would brew over the nearby ocean.

"This place..." I mumble to myself, a faint glow of blue intertwined with red resonates from my forehead but falls unnoticed against the bright light emit by the lantern. And not realizing that a certain Feraligatr had stepped up to me from behind after wondering why I had stopped moving, his paw reaches out to grab my shoulder.

-

A fresh breeze flows through my clean, white fur, followed by the rustling of the tree's leaves next to me. It is a peaceful day and a clear sky can be seen through the fully opened iris above.

Sitting on one of the benches surrounding the pleasantly decorated ground they surround, I hold a closed book in my paws, its title reading "Tempting Relativity Part IV: Exotic Particles and What We Know" in large letters as used by the ancients. But without the intention of opening it anytime soon while another light breeze passes through the hole in the ceiling, letting in more of the fresh spring air the land, and most definitely the underground palace had been in need of ever since the long hours and low temperatures of the winter forced me to keep it shut most of the time. Time I've spent tinkering with one of my latest inventions that would hopefully solve the library's power requirements once and for all, allowing all of its magic to function for another eternity.

"Mincara?" The familiar voice of Reg, an Emolga and my most trusted friend sounds from behind me before gently landing on the bench next to mine.

"Hey." I greet him cheerfully, speaking in a female voice familiar, but not that of a Quilava, before putting the book next to me on the bench before turning to face the flying Electric Type. "I thought your wanted to work on your own projects today."

She has been with me for a long time now after learning of her highly advanced ability of understanding and accepting the universe, its rules and the logic that makes up its foundation quite by accident, when I tested her by providing her with the materials necessary to construct an autonomous machine capable of watering her land with water it would extract from the air, designed to her exact plans, and constructing it out of nothing but wooden gears and levers.

It was only after I witnessed her prowess that I revealed my identity of being the Holder to her, before eventually giving her the option of entering the place she had thought to be nothing but rumors. - The library, and what she calls her home these days. A place where nothing could keep her from following her dreams of scientific discovery.

"I was." The squirrel exclaims excitedly, her cheeks sparking when she hops closer towards me. "But I let it running last night, and I think I've finally collected enough Exotic Matter to finally prove my theory."

She had told me about her theory that the library was the same as her home, neither located in a pocket of space-time as I had been lead to believe from my own interpretation of the ancient scriptures, but instead what she commonly refers to as the ~real world~, only on a different plane of existence.

"I'm not trying to discourage you." I respond, standing up with the intent of following the excited 'mon already, or maybe even still wearing a kinetic dampener strapped around her waist, to where she would lead me momentarily. " I'm just starting to get worried about this whole experiment. - You can't be sure what's on the other side, if there even is one. Your containment field may have been sufficient so far, but how can it be if you don't even know what may seep through from the other side of the rift?"

Narrowing her eyes and staring back at me, Reg crosses her arms before activating the device in front of her, a green shimmer appearing and vanishing a moment later as she responds. "I've had it connected to the same place for a couple of weeks now. - So even if there's something other than dark matter on the other end, such as I hope to prove my theory, there's no chance that..."

~CRUMBLE~

My hair stands on end when the ground begins shaking, the sunlight previously shining down through the iris vanishing, alongside the electrified air feeling as though my Electric friend had been coughing up sparks for hours on end.

But looking around after noticing that Reg had vanished, and failing to spot her where the squirrel was only moments ago, nothing seems to be as it was.

The artificial lights in the corners of the room spring to action as the iris begins to close when a flood of water starts rushing in from the ceiling. - A solid stream of salt water quickly filling the room up to the second level, as I have troubles struggling against the stream and keeping my head above the surface when the palace's automated mechanisms finally manage to close the leak, the metal now blocking the path of what I can only assume to be ocean water creaking angrily, but still managing to hold back the current.

"REG!" I shout, concerned with nothing but the well-being of the Emolga seemingly having vanished into thin air.

"REG!" I repeat, scanning the room below while the water level quickly falls as the liquid rushes into the neighboring rooms from where it will spread throughout the entire complex.

"ANSWER ME REG!" The lights in the corners begin flickering while the muffled sounds of distant alarms manage to evade my notice, before the water quickly manages to find its way into the palace's power systems, shutting down them and the emergency lighting for good.

-

Looking down at one of the bench, I spot the remains of a book next to it. - The pages and letters once covering its front long dissolved in the surrounding water, nothing is left behind but the shell of the knowledge it once harbored.

"How can I know all of th... AH!" Mellow's cold and due to the room's high humidity somewhat slimy paw catches me by surprise, ripping me out of whatever I was witnessing and causing me to spin around while dropping the lantern.

The sound of shattering glass echoes throughout the chamber when the lantern breaks, the Luminous Orb inside luckily remaining intact now starting to roll underneath the railing, and drop through the gap too fast for me to react as I slowly remember that I came with Mellow by my side, the gentle Feraligatr now lunging forward in an attempt to grab the Orb before it would fall to the lower level, but failing to react fast enough to catch its fall.

The sound of breaking glass repeats, followed by a bright flash of light when the former Orb manages to break its fall on one of the benches below, splitting in half and releasing the remainder of its stored energy, alongside an ear shattering screech not too different from what had been echoing throughout the catacombs ever since we entered.

Quickly covering my eyes and ears as soon as I realize what had happened, I can only hope that Mellow had the same instinct.

"What's wrong with you, Cyder?!" Mellow shouts as soon as the miniature sun starts dissipating, obviously and rightfully angry, before being silenced by another screeching.

I look around to find the last of the Orb's light fade and begin to stutter by response.

"I..." I begin, wondering what is wrong me, too, only for different reasons. "I'm sorry..."

"I don't know what happened. - I..." I continue trying to apologize before being interrupted by Mellow grabbing my shoulder again while trying to get his bearings within the darkness.

"Ugh!" He interrupts me, getting up with the help of the Orb's last light before speaking again. "At least summon a flame!"

Following his instruction, I flick my wrist to summon a flame I'd probably have to carry for the remainder of our stay. "I'm sorry. - Here."

"Ugh." Mellow groans again, letting go of my shoulder as he finds his own footing.

"Good job carrying the lantern there." He says ironically, rubbing his left eye while his right one blinks wildly. "Who thought you to carry stuff?"

"I'm sorry, Mellow." I say again, feeling a gust of wind coming though the passage way we came from not managing to distract me again. "But there's something about this place. - I feel like I've been here before."

"Oh really." Mellow states, still not ready to stop his sarcasm as he continues. "So how many times a week do you usually chill here?"

"Please." I respond, turning around when the sound of something falling over further into the labyrinth catches my attention for a moment. "I don't remember ever coming here, but I remember being in this room."

Pointing with my other paw to the seven remaining blades at the ceiling while a stream of rainwater begins trickling through the hole left by the fallen one, I try to explain. "See that opening there. - It used to operate automatically to let in sunlight and close during a rain shower or when it was night."

"No I don't see it, thanks to your professionalism." Mellow responds still partially blinded by the orb and slowly adjusting to the dim light of my candle, the sarcasm in his voice slowly fading as he begins to realize that I'm quite serious.

"It must have happened during one of my previous lifetimes. - I remember my name: Mincara. But there was some sort of accident, and this place was abandoned for a reason. - And I said I'm sorry." I state the apology yet again, hoping that Mellow could forgive me.

"I really liked that lantern. - 'made it myself." I can hear him mumble to himself before the sound of a squeaking metal door resonates from the same direction as the previous noises grabs both his and my attention at once, preventing the Water Type from responding to my claim of suddenly regaining a memory from a previous lifetime after he had already spent years searching for a way.

"I think we may have gained the attention of whatever lives down here." I whisper, considering the likeliest and most dangerous of possibilities as I finish my sentence.

"Let's hope we haven't." Mellow states, still blinking wildly but no longer rubbing his eyes, instead scanning the upper ring surrounding the courtyard, but only locating two pathways leading away, one of which has been buried by rock and debris, while the other to our right is the one the sounds have come from.

"I don't think we'll have to wait to find out." I state in response, quickly looking at the benches below as if hoping the water surrounding them had vanished in the meantime, before focusing back on the only option remaining being the path from which another screech echoes, followed by the sound of a metal door closing shut.


	95. Reg

Fearing of the possibility that it may be the shadow heading for us, and considering the fact that I broke our best defense of a light too bright for it to handle a few moments ago, I signal Mellow to hide behind me around the corner of the room we came from, before clenching my fist and extinguishing the flame as a precaution before awaiting the arrival of whatever may be on its way.

Both of us remain silent for a moment, trying to listen for the sounds of what may be on its way, which seem to have stopped after the last thing that could be heard was the sound of a metal door closing.

"Did I understand correctly that you've got a memory back all of the sudden?" Mellow whispers, his voice breathing directly into my ears and sounding worried as though he had either expected or feared something like this happening. "Because that'd be... Unexpected."

"It seems so." I whisper back, still trying to listen for any more sounds but only noticing the return of dampened, dripping water echoing from the iris centered above the courtyard. "And I think I have an understanding of what happened down here and caused the place to be abandoned."

"Abandoned?" Mellow repeats the word. "By whom?"

Yet before I have a chance to respond, a spark lights up the corridor across the courtyard momentarily, followed by the sound of feet hurrying over the smooth stone floor, before more and more sparks build up and discharge through the floor and surrounding walls.

'It could be some kind of ancient defense mechanism.' I think to myself, not daring to speak while the Feraligatr falls quiet as well. And trying to remember if I've ever read about an automaton utilizing the elemental power of an electric core, I fail to come up with something before the sparks reach the upper ring surrounding the courtyard, followed by a small creature standing in the middle.

"Mincara?" It squeaks, sounding both hopeful and ready to fight at the same time, while speaking with a voice sounding all too familiar, causing me lose my anxiety and step out into the open, before re-lighting a flame in my left paw to immediately grab the attention of an Emolga standing in the doorway across the room.

"Who are you? What did you do to this place? How did you escape containment? And what did you do to the Ninetails?!" The Emolga shouts, letting its sparks jump across the floor before entering a battle pose, followed by Mellow trying to protect me, reluctantly stepping out of hiding and entering a fighting stance as well. He manages to grab the Electric Type's attention momentarily before receiving a smirk of superiority from the walking battery that causes him to take a step back, leaving me to stand next to me again.

"Reg?" I ask impulsively, the muffled sound of dripped water having subsided again, not answering the Squirrel's question but instead speaking the name of another of her kind who she can't possibly be. – Yet I choose not to question the impossibility of it all.

"OK." She responds, stepping out of the doorway and slowly starting to head towards me and Mellow's frozen and alert stance. "That makes another question you'll have to answer before I'll knock you out and send you home."

"Knock us out?!" Mellow begins laughing as if having waited for a change to speak after collecting his courage, he now steps forward and no longer appears as though he has retreating. "I may be a Water Type, but I'm no push-around. - You want to fight? - You bring it!"

I fail to find words as my mind remains busy with trying to understand the presence of a creature that must be much older than even the annoyed Feraligatr standing next to me.

"As you wish." Reg responds, bowing to the 'gator from a distance like a respectful fighter would before unleashing their fury. She narrows her eyes on the Water Type and a smirk grows on her face, alongside Mellow's courage quickly fading again. "I only need one of you to answer my questions anyways."

A bright spark leaps across the room, narrowly missing the Water Type who manages to lunge out of the way before firing a beam of water at the Electric Type, managing to land a hit, but staring in surprise when the air around the small creature lights up green and becomes solid, the beam dispersing before ever hitting its target.

'Ancient technology.' I find myself thinking, still not able to react to the fight that has broken out. 'There's no doubt that's the same Emolga. - But how can that be?'

Looking in shock at what is unraveling, Mellow fails to understand and doesn't manage to catch his fall after escaping the Squirrel's arc of lightning. Yet the Emolga manages to react quickly and uses his moment of weakness.

"You see: I'm no push-around, either." She says, not paying any attention to the surprise still written on the Feraligatr's face. And eyeballing one of her paws as she channels spark after spark into it, the static jumping through her fur and leaping onto the ground, she continues. "So you better be glad I'm acting on ~your~ behalf."

Raising her paw with a smirk on her face, Mellow clenches his eyes shut when I finally manage to get ahold of my voice again.

"Stop!" I shout, managing to distract her while Mellow sees it as an opportunity to spring up from the ground and kick the Electric Type in its side. The air around Reg's body lights up green as it did before, and the kinetic force of Mellow's attack is channeled back into his own foot, causing the Water Type to fall back to the floor after taking back the Electric Type's attention.

"Both of you!" I shout again, hoping desperately that the two of 'mons would seize attacking each other. "Please stop!"

Considering his prior failures and still having his sanity left intact, Mellow doesn't attempt to get up again. Maybe because the hit managed to send him unconscious, his face directed away from me prevents me from knowing, or maybe because he still respects my judgement, while the Emolga turning towards me doesn't seem quite as intent on honoring his defeat.

"Don't worry." She chuckles, only sending me a quick glance. "If you'll continue to be this docile, we won't be having these kinds of problems."

"We didn't come through your rift!" I shout, finally managing to cause the Electric Type to stop. "Please. - Let me try to explain."

Looking back at me, I carefully begin stepping towards her and the motionless, but luckily still breathing body of Mellow as I look back at what can only be Reg in my mind, stretch out my arm to shine a light on myself, and allow her to take a better look at me.

"I'm the Holder." I cautiously state before the Electric Type steps away from Mellow, and with shock written into her face approaches me.

"Oh no." She starts mumbling to herself, repeating the words louder and louder five or six times as she approaches me further, her eyes still fixated on my forehead as if hoping that the scar visible to plain view might disappear if she got close enough to it.

"This couldn't have happened." She tries to convince herself. "I'm had hoped there would be something on the other side, but there's no way it linked to another version of the library."

Not paying attention to Mellow anymore, I notice him slowly and quietly getting up, all the will of fighting I had previously seen in his eyes now gone, when Reg continues talking.

"I would have done so anyways." She explains, as I notice Mellow now standing behind her, looking as if he was still planning his next attack while trying to figure out how to bypass a barrier I know to be impenetrable by any amount of kinetic force. "But I'm going to do everything in my power to re-open the rift and get you through it back to your home, even if that means I'll have to break the laws of physics again."

"Thanks." I respond, somewhat flattered but not convinced of what appears to be the Emolga's explanation of our presence. "But as I've already said: we didn't come through a rift. - This is my library, and you can't be from another either. - I remember you and Mincara. But that was many lifetimes ago."

Deciding not to mention the fact that I lost all of my memories since then, as well as the fact that the memory of her and Mincara only surfaced a couple of minutes ago, without any explanation to it what-so-ever, and after a time long enough for me to give up ever remembering anything.

"I can't tell you why you're still alive after so much time has passed." I try to explain what I do understand. "And it would take too long to explain the reason I'm here now. But if you know where it is, I need you to take me to the Terminal."

"I..." The Emolga begins to stammer, eyeballing Mellow for a moment while the muffled sound of dripping water returns, distracting me momentarily before the Water Type acts as though he hadn't noticed her apologetic look, before the Electric squirrel turns back to face me.

"I guess I can do that." She finally responds, still sounding confused but willing to accept what I say as truth. To leave her mind open to the possibility, almost as though she had already expected to be proven wrong, yet still not satisfied when she quickly adds onto her statement. "But hang on a second: you can't be saying that I've been down here for all that time? - I mean: assuming you're right, it would explain why everything is old and broken, and why half of the palace is flooded and the power conduits must have rusted beyond use centuries ago, when just a couple of months ago I remember everything still being intact."

'There's that point in time again.' I think to myself. 'The Terminal getting destroyed, Mellow stumbling through this place, the Mystery Dungeons appearing, my accidental visit to the Library with Treek by my side, the Shadow, and now this. - Everything seems to be revolving around it.'

"I can't be sure." I say out loud, and realizing that I had just answered Reg's question, I continue trying to explain. "But it's of vital importance that I get to the Terminal as soon as possible. – Right now it's our best chance of getting some real answers."


	96. The Terminal

"I guess..." Reg admits to my offer, glimpsing at Mellow returning her innocent look of confusion with an unexpectedly angry stare I wouldn't have expected after the Water Type should have come to realize the Emolga as not being our enemy, but instead our friend. Yet ignoring his expression as he continues to point his eyes at her, the Electric Type turns away a moment later to look at me without another a word, before finally turning the way she came.

"It's not too far." She states, starting to head towards the corridor she came down while I, taking another look at the upset Water Type, follow after the 'gator reluctantly heading after the untouchable Squirrel. "It has its own power source, so you should be able to turn it on even though the rest of the palace is inoperable. - But I guess you already knew that."

"I do." I respond to her statement before turning to Mellow walking next to me, and paying me little to no attention before realizing so.

"You said everything looked different when we came here." I begin, whispering as to prevent the Electric Type leading the two of us from understanding me, while the Squirrel in question occasionally turns to check on us. "It's kind of complicated what happened just now, but from what I understand there are two options."

Mellow, finally turning his head towards me and taking his eyes off of Reg not noticing the conversation, starts paying attention as I try to explain.

"At one point I was a Ninetails named Mincara, who took an Emolga named Reg here, similar how Tokaru brought you. Once where, Reg started working on a device that could potentially provide the library with the power it has always been lacking from our point of view."

Pausing for a moment when Reg turns a corner and decides to wait for us to catch up, I let the flame in my paw wave her a greeting, before continuing my conversion with Mellow once the gap between us and her has widened again.

"I guess for us it's pretty normal to only power necessities on a by-use basis, but back then she had the idea to collect energy from elsewhere in space-time, using some sort of rift she constructed for that exact purpose. - But something went wrong."

"In the end and considering that traveling back through time is impossible, either we somehow entered that rift at some point and it send us into a most unlikely future, considering the fact that I remember that accident happening long ago in the past, as well as the deterioration of this place, or that Reg got send forward in time while I got sent somewhere else completely. – Although I can't tell you where, or when exactly."

Pausing for a moment to return to the question I'm wondering about, Mellow manages to state it before I can. "You're wondering about what I said when we entered the catacombs. But I'm starting to recognize some of these tunnels from before. – So you can stop worrying about that."

"That's not what I'm worried about." I respond before almost running into Reg.

"Worried? – What are you worried about?" Reg inquires as I realize that she had been waiting for us around an upcoming corner.

Looking at me and at a cringing Feraligatr, I feel obligated to explain, the flame in my paw wavering in a stream of air carried around the corner.

"A couple of month ago; I'm guessing around the time you got here too, my friend Mellow." I begin, patting the Water Type on his leg but quickly pulling back my paw after once feeling the coldness of his wet skin thriving in the cold air.

"Mellow was exploring this place. But while he was, he lost his orientation and almost get trapped down here. And when we entered upstairs, we got trapped by a shifting wall covering the entrance."

Reg raising one of her eyebrows while Mellow continues to cringe out of embarrassment, she interrupts me with a laugh before explaining herself.

"You can't get lost down here!" She explains. "And sorry about entrance. – I guess I've activated that mechanism. But other than that, I can assure you that these are very much just a bunch regular, old tunnels connecting with a bunch of chambers filled with nothing but a ~lot~ of junk."

Adopting her look of confusion, but not sharing her amusement I turn to face Mellow as what appears to be embarrassment slowly turns into annoyance and even anger.

"Whatever! - I was dehydrated and I got lost. It's that simple." He tries to explain, wearing a forced slime on his lips before attempting to change the subject. "And besides: didn't you want to show Cyder where the Terminal is?"

"Sure..." Reg responds, turning towards me and causing our looks of confusion to meet before facing Mellow another moment during which he quickly covers the faked smile he had already replaced with his former look of anger.

"It's not much further now." Reg states, while I share my own look of confusion with the Water Type, only to receive the same forced smile he had worn when facing the Electric Type as response. Yet trusting the 'gator with my life, I decide to ignore his explanation for the while being.

"Hey Reg." I address the Emolga leading the two of us instead, causing her to spin around and walk a couple of steps with her back turned. "Is it always this wet down here?"

"It most definitely wasn't supposed to be." She begins while I take another look at Mellow who seems busy with his own thoughts. "But with no heating to evaporate it, and the iris back in the courtyard broken, rainwater must have seeped in over time."

"The upper level is still mostly dry, with only a couple of puddles here and there. - As a matter of fact..." She interrupts her explanation to point out a tiny frozen pond I had almost stepped into, who's presence alongside the other observations I had made slowly begins turning my confusion about Mellows explanation into suspicion.

"Only the lower levels are almost entirely flooded with that annoyingly cold rainwater, so I guess you're lucky the Terminal is on the upper most."

Having stopped listening to the trivia the Squirrel had started spewing a couple of sentences ago, practically nothing about what Mellow had tried to convince me of was still making sense.

Yet still deciding to put my trust in our long-lived friendship, I decide to ignore my gut's feelings of suspicion when the Electric Type comes to a stop before a solid metal door lying on the ground in front of a doorways leading into a room weakly illuminated with a shimmering blue light.

I had stopped paying attention to my surroundings while blindly following the Emolga leading the way, only to find myself surrounded by bookshelves filled with random trinkets and bound scrolls to my right, an energetic Electric Type ahead, a Feraligatr lost in his own thoughts behind, and most importantly, as I slowly step up and onto the cold metal next to the Squirrel, and take a look around the corner: The Terminal.

'There it is.' I think to myself, slowly stepping past Reg only to have Mellow take my former place, he looks past me and the frame with a deeply situated look of happiness, his right claw resting on the fallen metal door while the other stands on the solid cobblestone floor.

I stop paying attention to the two of them, not realizing Reg's question of what I was going to do now that I'm here, and with my mind fully set on the wavering blue growing brighter and starting to engulf me.

Setting down Treek's bag as I approach it, my forehead slowly matching its hue, as my mind connects to the machine almost automatically, the interface engulfing my being as it had already done so many times before, happiness coursing through me with the thought that it would so many more times.

No longer do I heed my surroundings and fail to hear a frightened shout of surprise before being back in full control.

Before me lies a map, probably being the last piece of knowledge I had accessed the last time my former self had been to this room, it details the outlines of what was starting to become known as the new world.

It is a long outdated piece of information and inscribed with the name the ancients once gave the mass of land: Auteria. But unlike other maps I had come across before, an area just off its shore is highlighted, alongside a long description detailing various levels of mineral deposits.

Feeling my interest spark momentarily, excitement rising within me and with the hopes that Tokaru himself had planned for me to see this, knowing that I might lose my memories as I had told Mellow, leaving this map as a hint.

But investigating further and overlaying an up-to-date image of the area, I quickly realize that the sudden emergence of a massive looking underwater structure I wonder may still be there today.

Though interested about the find, but somewhat frustrated that it doesn't seem to lead anywhere when I fail to find any further details on the structure, meaning that is was built in secrecy, I decide to stop wasting time, before putting the map aside to begin searching for information about the current state of affairs that may prove useful when I'd need to leave the library.

'Maybe there's a weak spot I can escape through.' I hope for a feasible escape route from the legion of soldiers I spot surrounding Old Zissorine, a fierce looking Mightyena already on his way towards the rundown shed connected the river gate. - Frozen in time until I'd be back to be grabbed by his claws.

My sight wades and a jarring screech rips me back to reality. The Terminal, still standing in all its beauty before me appears unaffected, before I turn around to look in shock at what had went down just outside the chamber.

I spot the motionless body of Reg leaning against a bookshelf across the door, the shield that had protected her from Mellows wrath now only causing the surrounding air to flicker green before shutting off indefinitely a moment later.

Mellow standing between her and me breaths heavily before turning to face me through the open doorway, the blue hue of the Terminal shining between my legs and throwing an image of my body against a wall of shelves.

"Quickly." Mellow shouts at me, waving his paw at me and readying his elemental core while anxiously looking down the corridor left of the entrance door. "You have to help now!"

I waste no second thought before stepping away from the Terminal and leaping towards him, leaving behind it behind fully activated on my way to aid the 'gator in his fight against what I can only assume to be the Shadow.

Yet as I leap out the door, my core ready and the vents on my back fully opened with escaping flames covering its entirety. – Yet nothing is there.

'Show yourself...' I think to myself, narrowing my eyes and clenching my teeth while starting to think that the enemy had decided to retreat after Mellow had surely managed to land at least one hit.

"Where did you see it last?" I state, quickly turning around to check on Mellow standing behind me, only to stop in shock.

An enemy is present, but it is not down the corridor, nor will Mellow be able to tell me where it is instead.

The Water Type stands motionless behind me, his breathing stopped and the only thing I hear is the sound of my own when the Feraligatr's eyes begin to glow in an all too familiar ruby-red.

"Thank you Holder. For fully activating the Terminal." He states, a voice sounding distorted and not at all like that of the 'gator I had come to know and love.

The normally blue skin of the reptile starts turning black, yet just as I try to respond it acts quickly and a beam of water is expelled from the transforming beast, hitting me in the chest, the force of the impact sending me flying down the corridor I had been fooled to find the enemy in.

I hit the ground hard, yet I remain conscious while my eyes and mind fall heavy, robbing me more and more of my strength as I start to feel weaker with every passing moment. My fur drenched in water. My skin aching under the sensation of a million needles penetrating it all at one.

I have no strength for getting back up. No will to accept what had happened. Yet still no choice, but to watch my eyelids slowly close as the darkness spreads to cover the fullness of the 'gator's body, Mellow's own bag falling through its dematerialized form and landing on the ground, before what remains as a familiar dark shadow sparks its ruby-red eyes at me one last time before gently floating into the brightly lit room.

 _## - End of Season 6 - ##_

 _Author Note:_  
 _This marks the end of season #6. But it won't be the last if I have anything to say about it (which I do have)._  
 _I hope you were able to understand Reg's backstory in the end (I was wondering if I should exclude her, but re-reading everything, the last twist already feels unexpected enough)._  
 _Anyways... Don't expect the next season to be done until at least as much time passes as this one took._

 _Though until then, I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing. And don't be afraid to tell me so, or even prove me otherwise._


End file.
